A Werewolf's Mate
by SpencerandHotchlover
Summary: Aaron Hotchner discovers that his new subordinate is his mate the minute Spencer Reid walks into his office. Unfortunately he is married and Haley is expecting their first child. Oh did I mention that Hotch is a werewolf!


A Werewolf's Mate

Aaron Hotchner looked up as the most amazing scent hit his nostrils making them quiver and his dark eyes start to turn the color of the wolf. Nobody was aware that he was a werewolf or that they were anything more then legend.

Hotch concentrated on his red tie and thought red as his eyes were now those of the wolf and they could only see in black and white. Finally Hotch opened his eyes again and noticed that the color had come back to the world, which meant that his eyes were back to normal, but what was that amazing scent that had caused him to lose control like that as that hadn't happened in years, not since he was a teenager actually.

Finally Hotch snorted as he thought about what if people—meaning humans—found out that werewolves were real. He knew that there would be mass panic for according to movies and literature werewolves were uncontrollable beasts that were forced to change at the full moon and could turn humans into the same thing with a single bite of scratch, while in wolf form, none of which was true. Oh sure they could turn somebody into a werewolf, but it took blood in order to do that, the blood of a werewolf. They weren't ravaging beasts either, like in the movies.

What was that? Where was it coming from? That scent was intoxicating, almost irresistible. Deep down though he knew what that scent was, a scent that smelled of coffee, chocolate and sex.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Hotch automatically called out for whoever it was to enter and tried to get himself under control.

Hotch concentrated on changing his eyes back to normal, which had again changed to those of the wolf as that irresistible, mouthwatering scent again hit his nostrils and managed to see color again just as the door opened and Gideon and a young man entered.

That enticing, irresistible scent swept over Hotch yet again and he tried his best to act normally so that neither man would notice, Gideon especially.

The young man, the one he didn't even know the name of had to be his mate. Werewolves only had one True Mate and this was determined mostly by scent. Hotch had never thought that he would ever find his mate or that they would be the same sex he was. He had always been into women or at least he had believed so until that irresistible scent swept over him like a storm making it very hard to act normally and to not attack the young man now sitting in front of his desk, the wolf in him not caring that Gideon was also sitting right there.

"Hotch I'd like to introduce you to our new team member, the young man I was telling you about Dr. Spencer Reid," Gideon introduced. "Reid, I'd like to introduce you to our unit chief Aaron Hotchner."

"It's nice to meet you," the young man spoke in a quiet shy voice reaching out to shake Hotch's hand.

Hotch struggled to remember what he was supposed to say as he shook Spencer's hand, but finally he said in what he hoped was his normal voice, "Welcome to the team. I'm pleased to meet you."

As soon as Hotch touched his mate's hand he wanted to throw him down on the desk and make wild passionate love to him and he had great trouble stopping his canines from extending or his eyes from changing into those of the wolf again. "Gideon, why don't you finish giving him the tour and I'll join you in a few minutes."

Gideon nodded and led Spencer out of Hotch's office not having noticed anything odd about his friend's behavior. "Come along, Reid and let me introduce you to the rest of your teammates."

Once they were gone and the door was closed, Hotch sat back down at his desk and wondered what he was going to do as the scent of what he now knew was his one True Mate still lingering in the air, which made it extremely difficult for him to be able to control his reactions as he wanted nothing more then to fuck Spencer Reid senseless. Doing such a thing was not a good idea he knew for not only were they boss and subordinate, the young man was apparently extremely shy as he hadn't looked up at all when he had been shaking his hand and instead had had his eyes on the floor and also the two of them ad just met for fuck sakes.

Besides he was married and his wife was pregnant with their first pup and there was no way he could ever get a divorce from her with a baby on the way. However he also knew that there was no resisting your True Mate, the one that was meant for you, as he had already started thinking about Spencer in a sexual way and the two of them had just met. Controlling himself around the young man was going to be almost impossible but he was determined to try. He knew that it was going to be in extremely hard task to do so for normally wolves mated for life but only if they had found the one that was meant for them and divorce was unheard of. When he and Haley had married they had both been young and thought nothing about the fact that they weren't True Mates.

Hotch wasn't even sure that he had believed in mates—even though he knew that they were very real—because he hadn't exactly been raised that way. His parents had raised him to marry some girl from a good family and both of them had been delighted when he had started dating Haley in high school and had just assumed that she was his mate, which was good as far as they were concerned because she had been raised within the pack even though she wasn't a werewolf.

Really it was a funny thing about werewolves and that was the fact that there were no females of their kind and the species was exclusively male. It had something to do with the genes, something that was specific to the male of the species, although why that was nobody knew because they weren't exactly very eager to reveal themselves to some scientist to be studied like bugs under a microscope and so it remained a mystery.

Hotch had never even considered the fact that he would ever find his True Mate or that he would be male, but now it had happened and he knew that it was fate that had brought them together, although Spencer didn't know it.

Hotch considered what he was going to do about Spencer being his mate, but finally decided that in order for the young man to believe that they were meant to be, or that werewolves were real Spencer would have to get to know him first, enough anyway to be sure that he was telling the truth and to trust him. He would probably even have to transform in front of him to prove he was speaking the truth and hopefully within the next year or two Spencer would consent to their being together sexually.

Hotch would dearly like to change his mate into a werewolf as well, but he would like Spencer's permission first so that would have to be put on the back burner for the moment. As for Haley…

He would not tell Haley about this, Hotch decided immediately or at least not until after his pup was born anyway, which wouldn't be long now, only a few months.

Hotch knew that Haley would be upset, but she knew the score about mates since she had grown up within the pack even though she wasn't a werewolf herself as that kind of thing was taught from the time that a child was old enough to understand by most families anyway, so she would eventually deal. His parents weren't True Mates he knew and that was quite likely why both of them were so bitter towards each other and also him and Sean.

He knew that he never should have married her, but he would always be grateful he had if only because he was about to become a father and since his one True Mate was male this would be his only chance to have a pup of his own since biology was against them.

Hotch set back in his chair and profiled Spencer silently. Shy, intelligent, in fact extremely intelligent, so much so that he was a certified genius with an IQ of 187 or at least that was what Jason had told him about the young man that he was bringing onto the team and also from what he had read in Spencer's file, there were waivers in his file because he was very unathletic, although Hotch knew that turning him into a werewolf would change that. He had a court certified eidetic memory, which meant he would be able to testify in court about things that he had seen, read or heard and he would be believed, over the defendants or other witnesses simply because his memory was perfect, which could be a godsend on certain cases, Hotch knew since he was a former federal prosecutor. From the file he know that Spencer father had left his son and his wife when he was eight years old and he also know what kind of impact that could have on a person, especially because his mother was schizophrenic. Hotch growled a little under his breath at that because he knew really there was nothing he could do about it. Hotch had his own rather sordid and painful history and it made him just want to reach out to Spencer more, but he knew he had to be patient and go slowly since he was still married to Haley and the young man was unlikely to trust him until he got to know him mostly thanks to his history and not just with his family. Hotch didn't know for a fact what had gone on doing Spencer's schooling years but he could make an educated guess—simply because he knew human nature—that he had probably been picked on badly because he knew that his mate had been years ahead of the other students and had graduated high school at 12 and gone on to college by the time he was 13. Humans or even werewolves for that matter often didn't understand when it came to special people like Spencer and picked on him just because they could. Teenagers in particular didn't like anybody who was different just because of the age gap and how intelligent he was, not to mention socially awkward Spencer would've been very different from the rest of his classmates and the bullies would have taken advantage of that.

Hotch sighed and tried to get himself under control as he prepared to leave his office. He was going to have to get used to being around Spencer without reacting to that irresistible scent that the younger man put off unknowingly at least until his divorce from Haley was final, because the young man was going to be around for 8 to 12 hours or more a day from now on.

Once the two of them were actually together, sexually it would be a little easier, because they would have consummated, although not much, which meant that technically they would be married at least when it came to wolf laws and traditions, but until then he was just going to have to hold tightly to his control at all cost.

Hotch walked to the door of his office and opened taking a deep breath regretting it immediately as his mate's scent permeated the entire area where the bullpen and offices were located. This was going to be tougher than he had believed, but he'd manage, he thought with a sigh, as he exited his office closing in the door gently behind him. He hoped.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

3 years later

It was finally time! Hotch rejoiced silently. It was finally time to tell his mate how he felt and all about werewolves. He knew Spencer would have trouble believing it as he knew very well that his mate was very logical and was a man of science. He believed in facts and statistics and things that had been or could be proven. He knew that Spencer didn't realize he had been courting him slowly, by making sure he was always trustworthy in his mate's eyes for one thing and also by making it clear that he was always there for him if he needed anything or just to talk. However he'd had to be extremely subtle about it so that Spencer or any of the rest of the team didn't realize what he was doing since they were profilers and would have noticed any behavior out of the ordinary.

He had caught Spencer staring at him a few times with an odd expression on his face, but he had quickly gotten busy when he noticed he was being watched. Hotch had wondered in those moments what his mate was thinking, but had stopped himself from actually asking him as he hadn't wanted to give himself away too soon. He knew very well that his mate was absolutely brilliant, and he might have put the clues together, although he might not have for Spencer did have trouble believing that he was worthy of being loved at all, any kind of love whether it was the love of friendship, of family or romantic. Hotch knew very well where his mate's insecurity had come from and if he ever got hold of Spencer's father he would regret ever being born by the time he was through, though he wouldn't actually kill the man. Spencer might very well believe that he was misinterpreting Hotch's expressions or the little signals he knew he was giving off unconsciously, simply because he was insecure where relationships were concerned, which had a lot to do with being abandoned by his own father when he was just eight years old.

Hotch had done his best to act normally around Reid, and he had succeeded for the most part, not that it hadn't been extremely hard. He was glad that none of the team had noticed any of his odd behavior for they would have confronted him if they had, especially his old friend and mentor David Rossi since he was the only one who had never been afraid of what he termed his death glare.

Reid was 26 now having just turned it in the last two weeks and the only reason Hotch hadn't approached him when he had was because his divorce hadn't been final until just a few days ago. He had been sad when he had sat Haley down and gently told her that while he would always love her he had found his True Mate. Jack had just been two years old when they'd had that discussion. Haley had looked resigned, but unsurprised, which Hotch knew meant that she had suspected something. He made sure she knew that it did not mean he would not take his son when he was free and that he wanted Jack to grow up to not only know him and her, but Spencer as well.

"You know the score," Hotch had told her gently when she looked ready to protest. "As soon as Spencer and I make love for the first time we will be considered married in the werewolf community, which means that Jack will technically be Spencer's stepson. If you try to keep him from me or from him I will take you to court and I don't give a damn if our relationship is revealed and we lose our jobs.

"I am truly sorry this happened, but we were both young and idealistic back then and teenagers really don't have the best judgment at times. I don't even know that I believed in True Mates until I discovered Spencer was mine, because I wasn't exactly raised in a loving home. My father and my mother were not mates and they always preached about marrying someone from a good family and not to worry about finding the one that was meant for you. You know very well that a wolf only has one True Mate and if something happens to him or her then they will never again connect with another person in that way and be unhappy and miserable for the rest of their lives. Despite Spencer being my True Mate I do love my son and I plan on spending as much time with him as I possibly can with my job. I expect you to at least try to be civil to Spencer even if you don't like him very much as he's had enough people in his life who have been nasty to him for no reason at all and he also has abandonment issues." Hotch didn't elaborate since it was really none of her business.

Hotch remembered how Haley had asked, "What makes you think he'll believe you when you tell him about being a werewolf? Most people don't you know and it is only because I grew up within the werewolf community that I did."

Hotch remembered smiling slightly and replying, "Spencer is very logical and scientific and he'll believe the evidence of his own eyes. He is a scientist in a way or at least his mind is. Besides I've spent the last couple years building up trust and he trusts me and the others on the team more than he ever has anybody else in his life, including his father. I truly believe that he'll accept it once I change right in front of him. He'll be curious and disbelieving at first, and really that's only natural, but I believe eventually his scientific curiosity will take over once he has seen proof. I would like you to sign the divorce papers uncontested as I really don't want to go through a long court battle if I don't have to. Besides it would only traumatize Jack if you wanted to do it that way."

Haley had thought about it, but then had given in because she knew that a werewolf only had one mate and she knew her husband well enough to know that he never would have told her all this if he didn't know for sure that this Spencer was his. She know it was instinctual that a wolf recognized their mate the first time they caught their scent and then met them and how Aaron had resisted all this time from having sex with this Spencer, Haley didn't know, but she know that he had because as much she hated to admit it her husband soon to be ex was an honorable and stubborn man and never would have cheated on her like a lot of husbands did.

Hotch remembered how Haley had sighed resignedly and finally said, "Alright, I won't contest the divorce because you're right that a wolf only has one mate."

"And Jack?" Hotch remembered asking.

Haley had looked rebellious for a moment, but then had given in to his demand on that as well because while she might resent that her husband was asking for divorce at least he was being very nice about it, although the steel underneath his tone told her that he wasn't going to take no for an answer and would take her to court if he had to, which is what made her give in as she didn't want to put her son through that.

Besides, as much as she hated to admit it, it wouldn't really be fair to Aaron as he couldn't really help having discovered his True Mate since she well knew that he had never truly believed in such a thing thanks to his upbringing and that it had been fate that had brought this Spencer into his life and you couldn't control such a thing, nobody could.

Hotch came out of his memories and glanced down at the bullpen from the window of his office and saw that all the team except for Spencer were heading for the door. It was after five and since they hadn't had a case this was normal quitting time. Hotch knew that Spencer often stayed late as he really didn't have much of a life outside his job and was very isolated socially, which had to do with his awkwardness and the fact that he was very socially inapt. This was partly due to the fact that he had Aspergers syndrome, which tended to go along with having such a high IQ, but it also meant that you were clumsy to one degree or another and tended to miss social cues, like saying something in the middle of a conversation that had nothing to do with whatever was being discussed. A lot of people didn't understand this and so treated people that had it like Spencer with disdain or indifference at best or outright loathing, disgust and hatred at worst simply because they weren't willing to try to understand anybody who was different from themselves. He knew that Spencer had learned to accept peoples attitudes, but it also at least partially explained why he didn't like to be out in public too often except in the course of his job. Occasionally one of the team would insist that he go to some bar with all of them and Spencer could never say no to his friends since he had never had any before.

Finally Hotch saw Spencer rise from his desk heading towards the elevator and he knew he had to make his move before he lost his opportunity. Besides he'd had a hard enough time being around his mate for the last three years without forcibly taking him and now that he was finally free he wasn't about to pass up this opportunity, although he know he was gonna have a hard time convincing Spencer that not only were werewolves real, but that they truly were meant to be together. Hotch figured that he wouldn't be able to get Spencer to agree to be changed into a werewolf at least for a few months and probably longer than that. Once Spencer was changed however he would also know that he, Aaron Hotchner was his mate and would be unable to resist his scent that he knew he exuded if only to Spencer.

Hotch left his office and strolled down the steps into the bullpen heading towards his mate at a fast pace.

"You heading home to?" Spencer asked noticing his boss's approach.

"Actually there was something I wanted to talk to you about," Hotch said calmly trying to hide his nervousness, since he was never nervous or at least didn't appear to be even if he was internally.

Spencer tilted his head his expression curious as he didn't ever remember his boss wanting to talk to him specifically about something, not without the rest of the team present.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Spencer asked curiosity in his tone.

"Why don't we get out of here and I'll tell you," Hotch suggested.

Hotch was well aware that Spencer would think that was a rather unusual request because they had really never been alone together, as they were always either with the team or surrounded by cops or other people, which had been deliberate on his part because he knew if he had been alone with his mate that he would have attacked him long since and fucked him senseless without his consent.

It wasn't something to do with work then, Spencer thought or Hotch would never have suggested that they leave. Spencer had never told anyone but his feelings for his boss were something other than platonic and he was well aware that he had more than a crush on the man. His feelings had come on so slowly that it was only in the last year or so that he had realized that he was in love with him but he had done his best to never be caught observing the man and instead had buried his feelings deeply so that he could still do his job and be around Hotch every day without betraying himself to him or the rest of the team.

He had never been truly in love before so it had taken him quite awhile to come to the conclusion that it just wasn't a crush like he'd had several times in the past, but since he figured Hotch would never feel the same he kept his feelings as buried as possible. Besides the man had been married until very recently, which was another reason he had never said anything as he never would have tried to come between a married couple no matter his feelings.

Now that Hotch was free though he still didn't plan on saying anything since he figured his boss didn't swing that way and even if he was bisexual like he himself was the man was still in charge and he was still just his subordinate.

"Okay…" Spencer said and Hotch could already see the well oiled wheels turning in his mate's mind trying to figure out what he wanted. Hotch knew Spencer well enough to know that he might even come up with a conclusion that was at least close to the truth even if it wasn't the whole truth.

The two men stepped into the elevator when the door opened and once it had closed Spencer asked curiosity in his tone, "So where do you want to have this talk?"

"My place," Hotch told Spencer, which caused the other man to raise his eyebrow and look completely shocked. He had never been to Hotch's apartment, which he had gotten after he and Haley had agreed to divorce uncontested a few months ago. Hotch had been nice enough to leave Haley the house so that she would have a place to raise their son.

Spencer's luscious, mouthwatering scent kept hitting Hotch's nostrils and he had a very difficult time not letting his eyes change or his canines drop, not to mention stopping his cock from responding. He hadn't been this close to his mate since their initial introduction three years ago as he had made sure to keep as much distance as possible without making it look like he was, which had been a rather delicate balancing act.

Normally there was at least a foot of space between them, but now that space was measured in inches and in the enclosed elevator his mate's scent was almost literally overwhelming, so Hotch held his breath without looking like he was until the elevator finally got to the garage level and the doors opened.

"So why your place?" Spencer asked as the two of them walked towards their separate vehicles.

"Because what I want to talk to you about is private," Hotch explained as calmly as possible. He didn't mention the fact that he wanted privacy in case Spencer reacted badly to what he had to say and also in case he got yelled at even though that was unlikely since the younger man wasn't one to lose his temper easily. He was fervently hoping that he had built up enough trust over the last three years because he well knew that he probably only had one chance at getting this right, because if what he had to tell his mate didn't go well then he knew that Spencer would resign from the BAU and probably the FBI altogether and be in the wind and he knew that he couldn't continue to live without his mate at his side as it had been hard enough to be near him everyday, but to never see him again...The thought caused his wolf to silently whimper in despair and Hotch had trouble keeping his expression normal.

"What could you possibly have to talk to me about that couldn't be done at the office?" asked Reid.

"Just trust me this is best done somewhere we won't be overheard," Hotch said and immediately saw his mate's attention sharpen even more and Hotch could almost read the thoughts that he knew were swirling through his mate's brilliant mind.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity Reid nodded and Hotch relaxed.

"All right then, give me the address and I'll meet you there," Reid said.

Hotch did so and Reid nodded. "I'll see you there in 10 minutes.

Reid watched Hotch nod and then walk towards his car and he tried to imagine what his boss could possibly want to talk about privately with him, but even though he knew he would find out in a few minutes he couldn't help, but wonder what Aaron Hotchner could possibly want to talk to him privately about and tried not to let himself hope that it was because he was going to be told that Hotch had fallen in love with him.

Don't be ridiculous Spencer! his inner voice scolded him. What could a big strong male like Aaron Hotchner what with a skinny know-it-all, that is clumsy, socially awkward, and extremely plain? Hotch could have anyone he wanted and you don't even know that he swings that way do you?

Spencer was rapidly talking himself into a funk as he drove towards Hotch's apartment and by the time he pulled up to the building he had convinced himself that his boss didn't want talk to him about having feelings for him, but something else entirely, although what that could be Reid didn't have a clue as even he couldn't come up with a plausible reason for his boss to want to talk to him alone.

Well, get out of the car and go find out! His inner voice told him. Don't just sit there like an idiot.

Reid gulped and took a moment to get his shaking hands under control before exiting his car and entering his boss's apartment building.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

"What did you want to talk about?" Reid asked as calmly as possible after Hotch had passed him a cup of coffee. Hotch had started a pot as soon as he had gotten home and it was almost done by the time Reid had knocked on his door. It had taken so long for his mate to arrive that he had began to worry that the younger man had backed out at the last moment and had silently breathed a sigh of relief when he had knocked on the door of his apartment. He could guess that Reid had had to get over his nerves and give himself a silent pep talk before actually gathering up his courage to actually enter the apartment building.

Hotch had been trying to figure out a way to tell his mate all about how werewolves were real and that the two of them were meant to be together until death separated them ever since the two had met, but he knew now was the time and so he took a deep breath and began.

"What I'm about to tell you is going to be hard to believe but it's true nonetheless," Hotch began and Spencer who had been looking down at his hands on his lap looked up directly into his boss's eyes at that statement. Spencer stared at Hotch, and took a moment to read his body language and realized that he was saying nothing but the absolute truth, because the older man was not trying to hide anything from him.

He knew very well that it was possible to conceal your body language so long as you knew what you were doing, but Hotch wasn't doing that all because he wanted him to believe in the truth of what he was saying.

Spencer took a sip of coffee and thought about how much he trusted Aaron Hotchner and so he waited for the older man to continue in what he was trying to say.

Finally Hotch decided just to blurt it out so that they could get his mate's reaction out of the way. Besides there was really no delicate way to tell someone something so unbelievable. "I'm a werewolf."

Spencer blinked, blinked again trying to absorb his boss's words, but finally he seemed to come back to himself and stared into Hotch's eyes and could tell that the older man wasn't joking in anyway as his expression and body language were both serious as were his eyes.

"You're serious?" Spencer sputtered in a shocked voice.

Hotch just looked at him his expression not changing in the slightest and answered simply, "Yes."

"Werewolves or any other fantastic creatures for that matter aren't real," Spencer protested looking shocked for this was unlike his usually serious boss. He would have usually suspected a practical joke except he knew that Hotch would never pull such a thing as he wasn't the type.

"You know that all legends are based on truth and there are plenty of myths about werewolves," Hotch pointed out logically. "Now those myths are nowhere close to the truth, but they do have to start somewhere."

"Well myths do get blown all out a proportion over time," Spencer admitted looking everywhere, but into Hotch's dark, intense eyes, "but they do have a grain of truth to them or at least most of them do, however werewolves those are just pure fantasy made up by writers in order to sell their novels."

"Are you sure about that?" Hotch smirked. "You know me well enough to know that I would never say something like werewolves are real or that I was one unless I had proof of what I say since I know very well how fantastic it sounds."

Reid considered this for a few seconds but he had to admit that Hotch was correct and he never would have said anything at all unless he was sure since he wasn't the type to say something so utterly ridiculous unless he could prove it.

"If you want me to believe what you say is true prove it," Reid finally challenged looking determined.

"Alright," Hotch immediately agreed and almost chuckled at his mate's rather flabbergasted expression and he suspected Spencer had been expecting him to try to back out of it and when he had immediately agreed he had thrown the younger man for a loop.

"What you are going to be able to prove it to me before the full moon?" asked Spencer looking surprised. "We're still about a week away from that you know."

"I know," Hotch said. "The thing you have to understand that all the writers write about how werewolves can only change on the full moon and want nothing more then to bite and kill humans, is nothing more than fiction. Yes, werewolves are real, but we don't necessarily have to change at the full moon, although we are pulled to do so then more than it any other time, but we can actually change anytime we want to and we keep our minds. Like in the books and movies we do heal very quickly, but unlike in them it also doesn't hurt to change unless we're injured with silver beforehand. That part of the legend by the way is correct and silver can be and usually is deadly to our kind depending on how much of it we have in our systems or where it penetrates our bodies."

Reid absorbed this information very quickly but Hotch know that the only way he would truly believe what he was being told was real was if he were to change in front of him so he got up off the couch and started to remove his shirt.

Spencer begin to blush and sputtered, "What are you doing?"

Hotch noticed his reaction and smiled to himself as he though that just maybe Spencer had developed a little crush on him or it was possible that he just wasn't used to seeing other people not even other men naked, but Hotch preferred to think that maybe his mate had developed feelings for him and if that was true then maybe, just maybe he wouldn't object to them having a relationship.

"If I don't take off my clothes before I change I'll rip them to shreds," Hotch explained calmly not letting on that he was very pleased at his mate's reaction at the sight of his naked chest.

"You're going to change? Here?" Spencer squeaked still a bright red.

"Yes, this is why I wanted privacy," Hotch explained as he undid his belt and then the button on his suit pants before pulling them down past his hips and letting them fall to the floor.

Next Hotch kicked off his shoes so that he could step out of his pants and then pulled off his underwear as well until he was totally naked.

The scent of his mate's arousal that drifted over him when he looked at his naked body pleased Hotch no end, although he told his cock sternly to stay put and not react. His cock twitched anyway and started to harden, but luckily Spencer's gaze was centered on his chest and not down at his crotch or it would've been a dead giveaway to his real feelings for the other man and he didn't want them revealed that way.

Hotch looked directly into his mate's eyes even as he slowly begin to shift. First his eyes changed to where the brown of his pupils expanded outward and the white of the cornea was overtaken then his canines dropped, then his skin begin to itch like crazy as black fur begin to sprout from his very skin and finally he dropped onto all fours as his nose and mouth turned into the snout of a wolf and his hands and feet into paws, the bones in his legs and arms broke and reshaped until they made up the front and back legs of his wolf form and finally he looked up after shaking himself from where he was on the floor.

Spencer had backed away slightly when his boss and started to change, but then had forced himself to stop knowing instinctively that Hotch would never hurt him, no matter what shape he was in now.

"Hotch?" asked Spencer a little tentatively and the wolf that was standing several feet away from him let his tongue hang out the side of his mouth in a lupine grin.

Spencer moved forward a few inches at a time going slowly but Hotch just stood there not moving and finally he was close enough to actually touch the fur on his boss's head.

Hotch closed his eyes in pleasure as Spencer begin to scratch him vigorously around the ears and on the back of his neck and just laid against his mate's leg enjoying the attention. That felt so heavenly, Hotch silently thought. His mate was taking the news about werewolves much better then he thought he would and he knew that was partly because Spencer trusted him and so the last three years they had known each other had not been wasted, no matter how hard they had been.

Finally Spencer stopped scratching and said softly stepping away a little, "Why don't you change back so that you can actually talk? This has got to be the biggest secret I've ever heard of and that's including some of the ones we keep for the sake of national security and I'm more than curious as to why you saw the need to tell me as I never even suspected and I know the rest of the team doesn't either."

Hotch did as requested and slowly shifted back into his human form watching as Spencer turned his back so that he could do that in privacy.

"You can turn back around now I'm dressed," Hotch said a few minutes later and Spencer did as ordered slowly until he was fully facing his superior once more.

"So I'm assuming you understood what I said to you while you were in wolf form, so I repeat why tell me?" asked Spencer not moving from where he was standing several feet from Hotch who was now dressed."

"Of course I did," Hotch told the younger man just preventing himself from rolling his eyes since he understood that Spencer's mind was trying to cope with what he had just seen and that he was still in shock.

"You're just gonna have to be patient if I ask some stupid questions because I have absolutely no knowledge on werewolves as until a few minutes ago I thought they were nothing but something that writers and publishers had made up in order to sell books. People just love reading horror just so long as it doesn't actually happen to them."

"You're taking this awfully well," Hotch observed as he looked over his mate critically. "Yes, you're still in shock, which is to be expected, but other than that…"

"Am I?" asked Spencer with a raised eyebrow with a little smile on his lips.

"You are, since a lot of people would have run screaming by now or at least tried to," Hotch said.

"I'm still trying to understand why you told me," Spencer said yet again. "I can certainly understand wanting to keep this kind of thing a secret because we both know that if humans knew that werewolves existed they would be hunted down, especially on the full moon and some of you would end up in government lavatories being experimented on."

"That's why the general population must never know that our species is real," Hotch said, "because you're right there would be a great deal of bloodshed on both sides before it was all over. As for why I'm telling you this I would have thought you would have figured it out by now in that brilliant mind of yours. You now know that I am werewolf, and in a lot of ways were a lot like our true wolf counterpart."

Reid thought about Hotch's words and went over everything he know about real wolves and then the answer hit him like a splash of freezing cold water. Hotch couldn't be implying what he thought could he? That the two of them were mates? Reid knew that wolves mated for life and never took another. Reid didn't say anything as his mind worked at warp speed going over everything he know about wolves and finally he came to the conclusion that he was right because it was the only thing that made sense even if he had trouble believing it. He would never have believed for an instant that someone like Aaron Hotchner would be interested in someone like him, but if his conclusions were correct it was the only answer, because as had already been stated it was an enormous secret that could not be found out by most of the human race unless they married into it or were werewolves themselves.

"I can see that prodigal mind of yours working fiercely and I know you have figured out what I was talking about a few minutes ago," Hotch said after quite a long silence.

"Well," Reid said cautiously, "only if my conclusions are correct, but really it's the only thing that makes any sense even if I have trouble believing it's true."

"And what conclusions have you come to?" Hotch asked wanting to make sure that Reid really had come to the correct answer, although he had no doubt that his mate had since Spencer Reid had a way of putting clues together with a minimum of information and made leaps of logic that often turned out to be correct. The way that his mate's mind worked still amazed him as well as everybody else on the team as Spencer could often lead them to a vital piece of information that led them to the capture of their unsub.

Spencer blushed and Hotch knew then that he had indeed come to the correct conclusion, for not much except something very personal could make his mate blush like that. Spencer could often spout off facts about things that others found embarrassing and yet he never blushed during those times only when it had to do with his personal life.

"Well, the only thing that makes any sense is if werewolves are the same as real wolves as you have indicated then the only reason that I can figure that you would tell me such a fantastic secret was if you have discovered me as your mate. Real wolves mate for life and I'm assuming it's the same for werewolves," Spencer said quietly looking down at his clasped hands that were laying quietly in his lap, refusing to meet his boss's gaze.

"It is, except we are also different from regular wolves in that we tell who is our mate by scent, while the real ones choose their mates arbitrarily. I've known since the day you entered my office that you were mine, but since I was still married at that time I couldn't do anything about it."

"Not to mention we had just met and there was no way I would have gotten involved in a relationship with you at that time," Spencer said blushing again finally raising his head to meet Hotch's eyes which were very heated and caused Spencer's cock to stand up and pay attention, "and not only because you were married, but because I really have to get to know a person before I consider such a move as sleeping with them, which I'm sure you know means I haven't dated much. Some, but I'm certainly not as prolific as Morgan."

Hotch's lips twitched at that for Spencer was right when he said that Morgan really didn't have girlfriends for more than a month at most before he dumped them, well normally anyway as there had been a time or two where they had dumped him first.

"So what does that mean for me now that you have told me your secret?" Spencer asked suddenly.

"Well, I'm hoping you'll consider becoming my mate as when a werewolf finds their one True Mate it's very hard to be around them without actually having sex with them. I've been struggling for the last three years to not just attack you and fuck you senseless even without your consent."

Spencer blushed at that and then asked tentatively, "You never showed it was hard to be around me as you get just acted normally, well at least as far as I was able to tell."

"Well, I had to do some things to distance myself in order to accomplish that and honestly it was still hard. I mostly stayed in my office when we were not on a case as much as possible doing the endless amount of paperwork that the government seems to require and that made it slightly easier, while we were in the office anyway. When we were on a case I tried my best to separate myself from you as much as possible, but I had to be extremely subtle about it or Rossi in particular would have noticed that there was something odd going on and would have stopped at nothing until he had figured it out."

"Why did you and Haley get married if you knew she wasn't your mate?" asked Spencer not sure he had the right to ask such a personal question but really wanting to know the answer.

"Well, we were both teenagers in high school together and we both knew that when you're that young you don't always have the best judgment. Besides my parents... well let's just say that they weren't mates and they always preached to me and my brother that we needed to marry someone of a good family and Haley's family had grown up within the pack even though she's not a wolf. My parents heartily approved of our relationship."

"She isn't a wolf?" asked Spencer in surprise.

"No it's some kind of twist in our genetic code and even though her family is part of the pack females can't be werewolves, only the males."

"Ah," Spencer said in understanding. "It's kind of like one of those diseases that only females get or one that only males can have."

"Exactly like," Hotch said approval in his tone.

"Are same-sex mated couples common among the werewolf population?" asked Spencer.

"Yes," Hotch answered immediately. "There are quite a few mated couples in Virginia that are two males although there's also a good percentage of male and female couples. Really werewolves don't choose who our mate will be fate or God does."

"It's called imprinting," Spencer said immediately. "A lot of animals in nature have this particular biological trait."

Hotch mentally shook his head always amazed at what kind of information his mate had stored in that big brain of his. His memory was so good that when he testified in court his version was believed over everybody else's simply because it was eidetic and he remembered word for word everything he saw, read or heard.

"Will you at least think about what I've told you?" Hotch asked with just a note of pleading in his tone, which was very unlike him, as he normally never pleaded, but as much as he hated to admit it he was desperate here. It was taking every ounce of willpower he possessed just to sit there and not grab his mate and throw him down on the couch and fuck him senseless. He had seen how Spencer had reacted when he had taken his clothes off so he didn't rip them when he shifted, but the question was, was his mate willing to admit that he had feelings for him or would he just take his leave as soon as possible and then run for the hills?

"I don't have to think about it," Spencer finally said raising his head from where he had been looking at his hands in his lap. "I've been in love with you for two years, although I didn't realize my feelings until about a year ago when you were nearly killed on that case. I nearly panicked when I thought you had been fatally shot, but when you showed up with no serious injuries, well you wouldn't believe the relief I felt, although I made sure to bury my feelings, so none of the team would see, especially you. If I had known you had feelings for me however, I wouldn't have gone to so much trouble to bury my own."

Hotch nodded to himself for he knew exactly what his mate was talking about for he had nearly panicked on several occasions when Spencer had been in danger and yet the younger man had always came out of it unscathed, well physically anyway.

"Does that mean…" Hotch never got a chance to finish his sentence for suddenly Spencer had moved until he was sitting so close to him that he was almost on the older man's lap and was kissing him for all he was worth. Hotch responded immediately and passionately taking the younger man's head in both his hands and gently beginning to stroke his hair with one hand while the other held his head steady so that the kiss wouldn't be broken too soon. This is heaven, absolutely perfect, the wolf in Hotch howled in exhilaration. It's about damn time, I could have made him mine two years ago if only I had known of his feelings!

Finally the two men broke apart if only because they both needed to breathe. Afterwards they both just sat there in a daze Hotch especially for he had never expected his mate to make such a bold move for was very unlike him, but he was beyond pleased that he had.

"I'll more then consider it," Spencer told Hotch finally after he had caught his breath. "If you're truly sure that you want me then I'm yours for however long that may be." The insecurity in Spencer's voice knocked Hotch for a loop, although he should have realized that the reason Spencer hadn't been in very many serious relationships was because he considered himself unworthy of being loved, thanks largely to his father's abandonment, although that wasn't the whole reason.

"I've been sure ever since I caught your scent outside my office door as Gideon was bringing you to me to introduce us," Hotch told him kissing the younger man again for all he was worth Spencer returning the favor just as eagerly. Hotch's tongue demanded entrance to his mate's mouth and pushed against Spencer's lips, which made the other man open his lips eagerly and allowed the older man's tongue to sweep inside. Hotch reveled in the taste of his mate's mouth and thought, this is heaven, I will never get enough of Spencer's taste as long as I am alive. When they finally broke apart again Hotch added, "And Spencer I want you for the rest of our lives together. Werewolves who have found their True Mates, well, let's just say divorce is unknown among them, which means they're together until the day one of them dies. Us werewolves never have the heart to marry again after that or even get into a serious relationship. It's been debated among our kind for centuries, but it is largely believed that we were only meant to truly love once and after that, well, we just have to wait until we pass on to the next world so that we can once again be reunited with our mates. It is unknown why our species has this biological imperative, but it has been debated that it is because we are also animals as well as humans and as you said a lot of animals also have something similar."

Spencer studied Hotch's body language before he realized that the man he had fallen in love with was being completely honest and open. There was even a hint of vulnerability in his expression as well, which was very unlike the man who was his boss. "Then I'm yours," Spencer told Hotch quite seriously wrapping his arms around the older man's neck giving him another passionate kiss, their tongues battling each other.

"Are you ready for the next step then?" Hotch asked trying not to seem to eager as he didn't want to scare Spencer off after he had just gotten him.

"What's the next step?" asked Spencer guessing he already knew the answer if the eager expression on Hotch's face was anything to go by, but then again he could certainly understand that eagerness since the man had been waiting three years before telling him of his feelings so that they would have time to get to know one another and also for his divorce from Haley to be final.

"We make love and once we do that we are bound together for the rest of our time on this earth. I will never need or want for that matter another and in fact I will be incapable of it. A male werewolf who has found their mate does not cheat on them and are always true to their other halves. Really the way a wolf's mate's smell makes them irresistible to their mate and they are uninterested in looking elsewhere, especially once they have had sex for the first time."

"What do we tell that team?" asked Spencer even as he blushed. "I don't want to sleep apart from you again if we do this."

"Oh we will do it and frequently," Hotch smirked with a leer avoiding his mate's question for the moment as Spencer blushed again, which Hotch thought was absolutely endearing. "I've been waiting way to long to make you mine as it is and we have a lot of lost time to make up for. We'll have to act professionally on the job, but outside that arena we will be spending a great deal of time in bed fucking each other at least for the foreseeable future."

"We'll need to keep our relationship low-key, so that Strauss doesn't find out, because you know she considers you a loose cannon and will use any excuse to get rid of you."

"We will," Hotch promised taking his mate into his arms and kissing his temple lovingly.

"Will you be changing me into what you are if that's even possible?" asked Spencer a little curiously even as he reveled in the feeling of the warmth that spread through him from the way Hotch's arms were around him protectively and lovingly. He had been dreaming of a moment like this for almost two years now, but had figured it would never happen. How wrong he had been about that, and he was certainly glad of it.

"It is possible and if that's what you truly want then I will be more than happy to comply with that request, although not tonight for I have other plans. It will make me worry a lot less actually when we are on a case because as a werewolf you will heal anything short of a death wound incredibly fast and will also not be all that easy to kill, although it is possible of course just a lot harder."

"Is that why you hardly ever get hurt beyond a few scratches that seem to heal overnight," Spencer murmured almost purring as one of Hotch's very talented hands rubbed his back up under his shirt in soothing circles.

"That's why," Hotch told him holding his mate gently reveling in the fact that Spencer, the man he had been lusting after for three long years was finally his. Really all that was left was for them to make love and then he at least would be bond to his mate until death parted them. He could hardly wait as he had been anticipating this moment for quite sometime and in fact had some very intense sexual dreams with Spencer as the main star. He was very eager to actually make love to the real deal and to fulfill some of his very erotic, imaginative and intense sexual fantasies as he had had quite a few over the last three years. "Also you never have to worry about catching anything like a cold or any other disease really ever again as the antibodies in our blood and our rather unique healing ability take care of most things without any trouble. Neither one of us will ever get cancer for example."

"That's good, although I'm usually a pretty healthy individual anyway even without the werewolf healing ability," Spencer commented sounding extremely relaxed. "So is turning into a werewolf painful?"

"I've been told that no it's not, by others, but since I was born this way I don't know for sure since I've never had to change anyone," Hotch said. "I have heard that it's hardest on the heart as it makes it work a lot harder until after the change is complete. I also know that the change will knock you out for a few hours and you will have to get used to your extra abilities that will come with the change afterwards, but for somebody like you who learns at such an incredible speed that shouldn't be too difficult. I can't wait to change you so that you can run with me on the full moon."

"I thought you said that you don't have to change on the full moon?" asked Spencer.

"You don't," Hotch said, "but you will want to because the pull will be incredibly strong, especially the first time. Besides our kind are like they're real wolf counterpart are pack animals and you will want to be around others of your kind every once in awhile and a lot of us gather together on the full moon to run in the forest. I will need to introduce you to the pack Alpha of this area at some point, although that can wait at least a couple weeks."

"Will the Alpha and the others of the pack accept me?" asked Reid looking uncertain.

"Yes," Hotch said immediately. "I am part of the pack even though I don't live with them, and since you are my mate it is really just a formality. Really any wolf who moves to the Washington/Virginia area can join the pack and very few are ever turned away and if they are there's always a reason for it, but that won't be an issue for you because as I said it is a mere formality since you are my mate. Even if you decide against becoming a werewolf you will still be accepted for there are plenty of humans who are the mates of werewolves. Most of those are female of course, but there's also a few males who didn't want to be changed."

"You can fill me in on the rest of being a werewolf later for I believe we have other things to do," Spencer suggested boldly kissing Hotch on the lips again.

"Alright, we can cover everything else later," Hotch agreed eagerly immediately rising from the couch. "Before we take this final step however there's one other thing you need to be aware of."

"What's that?" asked Spencer curiously

"Well, it goes back to the question you asked me a minute ago about telling the team and the answer is that the secret that our kind exist must remain that way, which means that you cannot tell them. Believe me I trust them explicitly and I would love to tell them what is soon to be our secret, but the Alpha has forbidden me to and you don't disobey the pack Alpha's commands."

"So we can tell them that we are together, but we're going to have to come up with some story as to how that happened and make it good so that they won't ask too many questions," Spencer said slowly.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Hotch said as both men headed towards the master bedroom. "Of course if one of them is fatally injured so long as is Morgan or Rossi then I will turn them into a werewolf in order to save their life because I wouldn't want to lose them, but other than that... it's just really one of those things that depends on the situation at the time because if they get taken to a hospital there's nothing we can do."

The two men reached Hotch's bedroom and once they had Hotch closed the door and then he told Spencer with a deep growl his eyes full of lust, which excited the younger man instead of frightening him, "Strip! Now!"

Spencer obeyed immediately and started to remove his clothes while Hotch watched the show appreciatively a satisfied little smile on his lips. His mate's scent was driving him absolutely crazy and he was desperate to be inside him as soon as possible as he had been dreaming about it from the moment they had met three years ago, three very long years.

Spencer finished removing his underwear and Hotch could see that his mate was all ready for him as his cock was standing at attention half hard instead of flaccid. "Aren't you going to take off your clothes?" asked Spencer with a little smile as Hotch's gaze made him feel good about himself because it was clear from his boss's body language, that he couldn't get enough of looking at his body. He had always considered himself skinny in the extreme and also very pale since he never tanned no matter the amount of sun he received, but it was clear that Hotch didn't agree with him as the older man's gaze was very appreciative as his eyes moved up and down his body, so slowly it was extremely sensual.

"Here, let me help you," Spencer purred moving forward and starting to undo his mate's tie and once that was done the buttons on his shirt. Once all the buttons were undone on Hotch's dress shirt he shrugged it off his shoulders and it slid down his arms until it fell to the floor. Spencer couldn't help but look at Hotch's body as he was undressing him, as it really was fine. He had a broad chest covered in fine dark hair, that went along his broad shoulders, a tapered waist, with a very well developed six pack for a stomach and that led down to long finely muscled legs. The man that he had been in love with for two years really had a fine body that showed he worked out frequently, for there wasn't an ounce of fat on his frame as it was all muscle. Finally Spencer set his eyes up on his final goal and that was Hotch's underwear and he could tell that the the man was already aroused since his cock was already straining against the material.

Reid could certainly understand Hotch being ready for he had been waiting three years after all and that was a long time to control your desire for someone.

Hotch pulled down his underwear and let it fall to his feet before stepping out of them and after that he was ready to go as was clear.

Reid lay down on the bed without having to be told on his back and Hotch was immediately on top of him. "We'll need some lube," Spencer told Hotch before he could get started.

"Already taken care of," Hotch smirked. "No, I've never done this with another man before, but I did my research three years ago right after I had met you just so I would be prepared for this day," he added seeing Reid's look. "Once my divorce from Haley was final and I'd moved into this apartment I made sure I was prepared for when I told you. Actually I moved out of the house after we did agree to get a divorce and I've had this place about six months as neither one of us wanted me to live at the house as we put in the divorce papers. We both agreed that I was still going to be a major part of Jack's life even though I wouldn't be living with the two of them. We can discuss that later though as we have better things to do right now."

That they did and so the conversation stopped in favor of other activities and that was making love as often as possible over the next three days since it was the weekend and they didn't have to be back at work until Monday.

However Hotch knew that he was going to have to be gentle with his mate until he was changed so that he wasn't too sore when he went into work on Monday as he definitely didn't need to Spencer to be limping, because the team would immediately notice and ask questions, so he would need to give Spencer rest breaks in between their lovemaking and not fuck him to hard, like he really wanted to do. However that was for later as he was more than ready to make Spencer his and he knew anybody that tried to come between the two of them, especially deliberately, was going to regret ever being born and that was a promise. The younger man was his now and would be until one of them passed away and no one ever came between a werewolf and his mate.

Hotch started to place little nips, licks and kisses all along his mate's exposed skin reveling in the taste and the softness of it. Spencer groaned and purred even as one hand raked its nails down Hotch's back leaving scratches that healed as soon as they were made thanks to the rather unique werewolf healing ability.

"More!" Spencer begged breathlessly even as he leaned up to kiss Hotch on the lips passionately. "I need you inside me! Now!"

"Well, aren't you the demanding one?" Hotch teased Reid playfully, although he was very pleased with his mate's response to his ministrations and besides he wanted nothing more than to fulfill his lover's request. "It will be an absolute pleasure as I've been waiting a long time for this."

Hotch leaned over to the bedside table and reached into the drawer for the lube that he'd had waiting ever since he moved into this apartment a year ago and popped off the lid without bothering to unscrew it.

He coated one of his fingers and stuck it inside Spencer's hole moving it around causing his mate to start to whimper and whine as intense pleasure shot through him like lightning. Hotch added a second finger after coating it with the lube and started to scissor his fingers so that he stretched his mate's hole as much as possible since he knew he was a big man and while he was doing this he hit Spencer's prostrate with his fingers, which caused the younger man to go into an orgasm so strong that his cock that had become extremely engorged shot out it's semen like bullets and Hotch hadn't even pushed his cock inside his tight hole yet.

"Well," Hotch said with a little satisfied smirk leaning down to kiss Spencer on the lips once his climax had passed. "I had no idea that you were that close to coming."

"Neither did I," Spencer admitted blushing a little. "I've never reached my climax that fast or without more stimulation, but you do something to me..."

"It probably has something to do with the fact that we are mates even if you can't tell because you don't have a werewolf's sensitive nose, although once you are changed you will know for absolute certainty that the two of us are meant to be together and I could no more leave you then I could quit breathing," Hotch said.

"I'm sure you're right as a dogs nose is the most sensitive part of the body, which is why they have such a fantastic sense of smell and can be trained to smell out just about anything, explosives finding lost children or ones that have been murdered," Spencer said.

Hotch didn't respond verbally, but went back to what he had been doing just a minute ago and that was stretching his mate's hole so that his large cock could be inserted with as little pain as possible to the man he had adored from afar for three years.

"Wait! Don't you need a condom?" asked Reid suddenly before Hotch could push his penis into his body.

"No, as I said werewolves can't get sick, so we don't need to worry about a condom, especially since you can't get pregnant thanks to you being male."

"Oh, okay then," Spencer said not having thought of that, but then how could he considering he was so consumed with pleasure he was surprised he had thought of it at all.

Hotch continued what he had been doing and once he was sure that he had done all he could to prepare his mate Hotch pushed his cock into Spencer's hole—once he had also slathered it with lube—slowly so that his mate could get used to the invasion of something so large into his body. Hotch knew from all his research that a man's anus was almost like elastic and would stretch to accommodate something as large as a man's cock, although there would always be some pain even if it was brief.

Spencer accepted the pain that he knew was coming and it wasn't long before he was urging his mate to finish what he had started because he could feel his climax building up rapidly for the second time that night.

"More, Aaron more!" Spencer begged pleadingly not seeming to realize at first that he had used his boss's first name he was so lost in pleasure.

Hotch however had immediately noticed and was beyond pleased, so was going to ensure that Spencer knew that he was welcome to call him by his first name so long as they were alone, or just around the team when they weren't working once they knew of course.

Hotch withdrew from his mate and then eagerly pushed back in until Spencer was whining in pleasure as he made sure to hit his mate's prostrate with every thrust.

His lover was so tight and his cock was so large that he was astonished that it slid in so easily, but he did and the fit was perfect, absolute and utter perfection. Hotch felt the wolf in him howl in bliss and satisfaction as he kept repeating over an over inside his skull, Finally, Spencer is mine! Finally! Finally! I'm going to fuck this boy so much, he's not going to know what day it is and he's going to be so sore that he won't be able to walk for a week. I can hardly wait to get started! I can hardly wait to turn him into a werewolf so that I don't have to be so careful with him and when I do I plan on fucking him until we are both so exhausted that neither one of us can move and I plan on letting him do the same to me for I may be an alpha male, but I want my Spencer to know the pleasure of penetrating his cock into my body and I want to know what it feels like to be the one being penetrated, so long as it is is with the man I have adored for three years from afar. If it was anyone else the thoughts of my being penetrated instead of the other way around would never have entered my mind, but Spencer's not just anyone, but mine! My mate! Mine! I want him to know how beautiful and utterly perfect it is to be the one doing the penetrating instead of the other way around and if it was anyone else I wouldn't worry about them finding their satisfaction and just be concerned about my own.

His father had never known this perfection, Hotch thought, for he had never found his mate or if he had he had never told anyone, but it certainly explained the bitter undertones of his parents marriage for if you married without finding the person that was meant for you, you were only setting yourself up to be miserable, which led to being bitter. His father had often preached to him and Sean that it was better to marry a woman from a good family and not to wait for the one meant for you, but Hotch now knew with certainty that his father had been wrong. It wasn't that he and Haley hadn't had sex with reasonable frequency, but once he had met Spencer well things had be different and he had withdrawn from her without meaning to as he couldn't really stand the thought of having sex with his then wife after he had met Spencer. Oh the two of them had still had sex, but not nearly as often as before as Hotch had begun distancing himself from her by spending even more time at work doing paperwork that could have waited. He now knew with certainty that having sex with Haley and making love with Spencer were two totally different things for while he had enjoyed sex with his now ex-wife, he hadn't wanted to attack her constantly, nor had it felt so utterly right to be inside her like it did with Spencer. Spencer's tight passage was just the perfect size for his cock and he slid in smoothly with the help of the lube and his mate's body responded immediately and passionately, his hips bucking softly, his quiet whimpers, and coos demanding more which Hotch was more than happy to oblige him with, ramming himself inside his mate's tight channel again. Spencer's passage squeezed his cock as it is in welcome and the feeling was so utterly perfect that Hotch nearly came from that alone, but managed to hold back but knew he wouldn't be lasting long, which was fine since this was the first time for both of them.

With that last thought it didn't take long at all for Hotch to finally spurt his seed into his mate's body in copious amounts for the first time, and then he felt another throb from his cock and felt it again releasing yet another spurt of seed into his mate's body and another and another, until finally after half a dozen throbs of his cock he was completely empty. Spencer went into his second climax of the night, which was much more earthshattering then the first and at the same time so did he. Hotch felt his climax overtake him and immediately realized before his brain shut down completely that he had never had such a strong release in his life, not even as a teenager who had just discovered girls were more then petty annoyances.

Finally Hotch collapsed on his side of the bed making sure he didn't smother his mate's smaller, lighter frame with his heavier weight and took Spencer into his arms pulling him close the other man not resisting in anyway and in fact his mate let out a sigh of contentment and just curled up against his side looking sleepy, but deliriously happy and content.

"Well, you're mine now, for I at least am now bound to you," Hotch said sounding extremely content and he was, but also so happy that he just wanted to stay joined to his mate physically permanently.

"We are each other's," Spencer corrected cuddling into Hotch's side his face up against the man's neck taking in his scent and placing kisses along the side of it and up under the side of his jaw. Hotch growled, tilting his head to give his lover better access feeling thrilled at his mate's little action. He hadn't even bothered to ask for permission, which meant that Reid was confident enough to take certain little actions on his own, which he would make sure that his mate was aware that was fine with him and that he would be ecstatic to accept any such advances in the future. "Even if you never turn me into a werewolf I don't plan on ever going anywhere, unless it is with you."

"Good, because the minute we had sex was the minute we became technically married at least in the eyes of other werewolves," Hotch growled sounding fiercely protective, which made Spencer feel safe, warm and contented a feeling that he wasn't exactly familiar with considering how he'd had to almost raise himself from the age of eight. "It would literally kill me to find out that you were cheating on me, although if you died for some other reason I would mourn you, but it wouldn't lead to my suicide."

"You don't have to ever worry about me cheating on you," Spencer told Hotch sincerely kissing him on the cheek.

"I know it," Hotch assured Spencer and was delighted when his mate started to kiss the side of his neck again seeming to be inhaling his scent, which he now knew that Spencer found pleasing, since his mate couldn't seem to stop himself from burying his nose just under his jaw where he knew his scent was the strongest, except for his privates. He knew that what Reid had said was nothing but the truth for he knew that his lover was loyal to a fault to those he loved and wasn't one for having a relationship on the side even if the two of them hadn't been meant to be. If this had been a ordinary relationship and Reid had wanted to start another one, then he would have broken up with him first before he had made a move on another person, but Hotch knew that he didn't have to worry about another person taking Spencer away from him for even though he wasn't werewolf Reid wasn't the type that would truly fall in love only once and not get involved in a serious relationship, much less marry like Rossi had three times. Of course woman had hurt him in the past Hotch knew just by making a careless thoughtless comment within his hearing, but he would make sure that from now on Spencer knew that he was loved and others peoples comments wouldn't matter or sting so much, so no he wasn't worried on that score.

"Has it ever happened before when one of the human mates of werewolves cheated on them?" asked Spencer raising his head from where it was buried in his lover's neck, knowing that it had to have had happened since werewolves while not completely human still had human emotions and faults.

"Yes," Hotch said immediately. "There have been a few instances that I've heard about where a werewolf found their mate, but he or she didn't accept it and I'm sure there have been many more that I never heard of in different parts of the world. I'm sure you can imagine what that did to the werewolf in question."

Spencer could well imagine what had happened as it probably led to the suicide of the werewolf in question and maybe even their human mate as well.

"I imagine it led to the suicide of the werewolf at least and also possibly their mate," Spencer said voicing his thoughts of a few seconds ago. "If a werewolf only has one True Mate like you have indicated to lose them because they won't accept you for who you are well the werewolf in question would be miserable for the rest of their life and most people wouldn't want to live if the person they truly deeply loved left them like that and cheated on them with another."

"Yes, that is exactly what happened, although if the werewolf finds their mate within a pack then it doesn't, but if it is an outsider then it does tend to happen sometimes and not just here but in other parts of the world where werewolves have settled."

"How did you know that I would accept the information that you weren't exactly human?" asked Spencer curiosity in his tone.

"Well, I knew that you had a very scientific and logical mind," Hotch's explained, "and that you trusted me, which I knew would only help my case. I also knew you would want proof of what I told you, which as I said earlier was one of the reasons I wanted privacy. I knew that once I had proved to you that werewolves were real your scientific curiosity would take over and you would believe what you saw. You've never been one to react emotionally, like some people as you've always been the calm, steady type."

"So you spent the last three years building up my trust of you," Spencer said, "so that when the time came I wouldn't reject you."

"Well, partly for that reason, but also because a team works more smoothly if they trust each other and don't let their egos get in the way," Hotch said and Reid knew this to be true. He knew very well that they had a higher percentage of solving cases simply because they trusted each other to watch each others backs during a case and because of this they were more like family than just a team that worked relatively well together, not that there wasn't occasionally friction, but then that was a way of life. Reid knew that he had been extremely lucky to get into the BAU and onto a team that accepted him and his intelligence without talking about him nastily or negatively behind his back. He would literally walk through hell to protect any of them and he knew the others on the team felt the same.

Hotch watched Reid's reaction carefully but when he seemed to accept his explanation he relaxed. He should have known that Spencer wouldn't be upset at what he had heard since he would have seen that it was necessary if only so the team worked together smoothly, although that trust could also could pay dividends in other areas like in this case.

"So does this mean that Jack is also a werewolf?" asked Reid curiously.

"Yes, but our kind doesn't change for the first time until they hit puberty so right now he's just a normal, energetic, rambunctious little boy," Hotch answered.

Reid sighed and said, "I have so much to learn."

"I know you'll pick it up at a much more rapid pace than most people do simply because of the way your mind works," Hotch assured him. "You can process information at a much faster speed then most of the rest of the human race and remember every word afterwards."

The two men were silent for awhile just content to be together and then Spencer spoke and said, "Now that we are together there's probably something I should tell you."

"What's that?" Hotch asked curiously.

"Well, I've never told anyone this before, but after my father left when I was eight years old he left mom and me his stock portfolio as he wanted us to have money to support ourselves," Spencer explained. "I've been investing that portfolio ever since I was old enough to do so and let's just say I really don't have to work for a living if I wouldn't be bored if I didn't and you know me I need plenty to keep my mind occupied and I hate being bored more than anything."

"Exactly how much are we talking about?" asked Hotch.

Spencer told him and Hotch blinked in astonishment. "Nobody has any idea that you have that much money to your name?"

"No I've never told anyone before, but I live mostly off the interest, which takes care of my mother too. All my bills are paid automatically from an account that has been set up for that purpose as are the ones for Bennington where my mother lives in Las Vegas. This way I don't have to worry about paying bills every month, which is good considering I am home so seldom and when I actually have free time I like to enjoy myself not pay bills. If I had ever actually married some women I would have told them about it, but since you and I are mates I'm telling you."

"I'm astonished that nobody knows about your money outside of yourself in your account that is," Hotch said.

"I'm not really surprised," Spencer said. "I'm a simple man, with simple taste and I live well within my means. Oh I do splurge very occasionally mostly on books, but for the most part I live very simply and well within the money I'm paid with my job."

"Did Gideon ever know?"

"I'm not really sure," Spencer admitted, "but probably not because we both know that finances are not really looked into unless you're under suspicion for some kind of crime. You don't have to worry though I have the proof in a safety deposit box at my bank that I came by my money honestly if that ever happens for whatever reason so I'll be cleared really quickly if I'm ever framed."

"Well, yes, it has been known to happen that somebody is framed for a crime they didn't commit and it's been known to happen to cops and other law-enforcement officers including FBI agents in the past, by unscrupulous people," Hotch admitted. "Just think of what happened to Morgan just a few months ago."

"I'm certainly glad that we were able to clear him and get the real culprit," Spencer said. "We all knew he wasn't guilty of the crime that the local cops thought he was, but knowing it and proving it are two different things."

"You never doubted for even a second that he was innocent?" asked Hotch.

Hotch watched as Spencer shook his head vigorously and said, "Not even for a millisecond. Most people have things in the past that they don't want anybody to know about even if they aren't like the things Morgan went through when he was a boy. As for me I had to learn to lie to the adults in my life so that I didn't end up in foster care since my mother wasn't really capable of taking care of or looking after me. I was young when my father left I know, but I already had so much knowledge stored in my brain and I knew my chances of ending up with a decent foster family were very slim at best. We both know that a lot of people decide to be foster parents for the extra money involved not because they genuinely care or love children. There are supposed to be checks and balances in place, but still social workers are so overworked that a lot of times people who should never become foster parents end up as ones because backgrounds aren't checked thoroughly enough due to the people involved being overworked and underpaid. Besides my mother really needed somebody to look after her, make sure she took her medicine, ate, things like that and I was the only one available to do that since dad left without even a backwards glance. Now that she is at Bennington Dr. Norman looks after her health and makes sure she takes her medicine like she supposed to. Yes, Morgan did some things when he was a kid, especially after his father was killed, but just because he was a bit of a troublemaker does not mean that he isn't a good man now as we both know that he overcame his past to become what he is today."

"I hate to admit it, but I wasn't sure if he was innocent or not, of the crime that the cops thought he was guilty of, but I'm glad I was wrong about that," Hotch admitted. "Morgan managed to overcome his rather difficult past and turn into the good man he is now, but we know a lot of children never do. I realize that Morgan had the support of his family which is probably at least part of the reason he turned out so well while others had no one. Of course my childhood wasn't really a walk in the park either and I didn't really have anyone to turn to except my brother who was much younger than I was."

"Sometimes having such a difficult past makes us very good at what we do," Spencer said and Hotch nodded his agreement. "Everybody on the team truly believes about seeing justice done and that the right person is caught and punished and if we're not sure it is the right person then we keep working the case until we are or the real unsub I caught."

The two men were silent for a few minutes and then Hotch asked, "So ready for another round?"

"Of course," Spencer immediately agreed. "I'm not tired unless you are. We can sleep in late tomorrow because we have the whole weekend to just stay in bed and make love."

"And we will be doing a lot of that for the foreseeable future since I have three years of wanting you to make up for," Hotch told his mate with a rather lecherous smirk as he gazed up-and-down Spencer's naked body, literally salivating. "In fact you might as well be prepared for waking up in the middle of the night to find me on top of you and doing things to your body that I've only been able to do in dreams until now."

"Well, they are certainly worse ways to be woken up in the middle of the night," Spencer said blushing as he thought about Aaron's words, knowing he was serious. He had a feeling that it was gonna be one of his favorite ways to wake up from now on—no coffee required.

They started to make love again and it was hours later that they finally gave in to exhaustion, after multiple climaxes apiece and fell asleep curled around each other.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

"So when do you plan on turning me into a werewolf?" Reid asked Hotch as the two of them lay together on the couch watching or at least pretending to watch a movie. It was more than a month later and this was the first weekend that they'd had off ever since the first one just over six weeks ago now.

"Well the next full moon is in about a week," Hotch said. "I really need to do it this weekend so that you can meet the Alpha of the pack before we go on our first run together."

"So what can I expect after you change me, well besides the super sensitive nose," Reid asked.

"Well, as you just mentioned that your sense of smell will be improved and it will be at least 1000 times more sensitive then it is now, so you will know instantly that we are mates just because the way I smell to you will be very irresistible, just like your scent is to me. What else you can expect with the change is that you'll be able to run much faster on four legs and not get tired and out of breath easily although you will of course eventually get tired. Wolves as I'm sure you know can run for a long time without needing to stop. It's possible that your body shape will also change slightly and you'll gain muscles probably at least in your arms and legs. These changes won't be noticeable to the rest of the team since you always wear long sleeves to work but you'll be noticeably stronger and healthier. As I mentioned after we first got together you won't have to worry about getting sick as you'll no longer be able to catch colds or get some of the more deadly diseases that humans get like cancer. You'll also only be able to see in black-and-white while your eyes are like those of the wolf whether that is when you are actually changed or if you are still in your human form. If you can only see in black-and-white you need to concentrate on something colorful like the red tie I normally wear and think of that color and your eyes should change back to normal."

"What about schizophrenia?" asked Spencer a little apprehensively.

Hotch considered his mate's question minute and then answered as honestly as he could, "I've never known a wolf that got that particular disease so you might be safe from that too, but I don't know for sure. Our heritage protects us from most things but schizophrenia is a disease of the mind not of the body or the blood, so I'm not sure, but come to think of it I've never known any wolf that developed any kind of problem with their mind at least not due to a medical reason. I'm sure you can guess that we do occasionally have a wolf that starts killing humans for their own pleasure and when that happens they are usually hunted down by a pack of us since we normally take care of our own problems."

"Do they ever end up in prison?" asked Spencer seriously not seeming disturbed about what Hotch had told him. Aaron knew that he probably realized that it wasn't a good idea for one of their kind to actually go to prison even if they could control the change even during the full moon. A wolf might be able to control the change anytime he wanted to, but to be denied the chance to run in a forest somewhere for all the years they would be in prison would evidently kill the wolf in question. Not to mention that their kind needed to gather together even if it was only once in awhile as wolves were pack animals plain and simple and needed to be around others of their kind or the same result would happen. Still he answered his mate's question as honestly and completely as possible.

"Sometimes, but they don't usually last in prison and end up suiciding before they are released simply because like wolves we are pack animals and we don't like isolation. We need to be around others of our kind, although not all the time of course, but still it's unlikely that they'll be another wolf in the same prison so they feel all alone and most of us can't take that feeling for any length of time. Trust me catching them and killing them outright is better for one of us and far kinder, since no matter how twisted one of our kind has to be to end up in prison in the first place they would never reveal that werewolves were real no matter how sick they are mentally."

"Even if they did they wouldn't be believed and doctors and others would just put it down to them being insane," Spencer said and Hotch nodded.

"Yes, that's true for the most part, but who knows if there is somebody working at one of those places that would actually believe what they was hearing? We both know that there are people like that out there that believe in things like werewolves or little green men or any number of other things are real," Hotch said.

"I'm nervous about meeting the Alpha in charge of the pack," Spencer said and indeed he did look incredibly nervous.

"There's no need to be," Hotch told him with a smile. "You will be accepted whether you are a wolf or a human. In fact I probably should've taken you to meet the Alpha right after we got together, but we've been so busy after that first weekend that we just haven't had a chance to."

"You won't be in trouble for waiting so long will you?" asked Spencer.

"No," Hotch said, "especially since nobody knows about relationship except us at the moment. "Even if Greg asked when we got together and I do plan on being honest with him we shouldn't be in any trouble because when a wolf couple became first mated they need a lot of time alone. We've been together for six weeks now and although we both practically attack each other whenever we are by ourselves, you should be okay to meet Greg sometime next weekend."

"But doesn't your ex-wife know about me? I'm sure you had to tell her why you were asking for a divorce."

"She does," Hotch to admitted. "I hadn't thought about that angle, but Greg and the other werewolves in the area probably know about you then, since I'm sure she wasn't going to keep the fact that I asked for a divorce a secret as it would have come out eventually anyway when I introduced you to the pack Alpha."

"Which gives me even more reason to be nervous, because I'm sure Haley is well-liked among the wolf community and there's bound to be a lot of resentment that you asked for a divorce. I'm sure most people assumed that Haley was your mate unless you told them differently and it probably came as a shock to everyone that she wasn't."

"Some people will likely resent your presence because you're right Haley is well liked, but most of those will be human because the wolves know that each one of us only has one True Mate and will also know that it couldn't be helped if I discovered mine. The humans that grew up within the pack have been taught this as well, and so the resentment will probably only come from those that came from the outside, although there might be some from within the werewolf community. You don't have to worry though, I won't leave your side and if anybody dares air a grievance about me breaking up with Haley and try to take out their anger on you then I'll cut them off before they can really get started. Yes, I loved Haley, but when I met you it was inevitable that we would break up, even if the two of us had never gotten together. It could've been that Haley wanted a divorce because I couldn't really hide my feelings for you from her, although I did my best too."

"I'm really sorry," Spencer said sounding apologetic.

"What are you sorry for? You didn't have anything to do with my decision. What you are changed into a werewolf you will understand that it was inevitable that Haley's and my relationship would have broken up anyway," Hotch said indignantly not in the least surprised that his lover was blaming himself for his marriage breaking up even though he hadn't a thing to do with it. "I know due to your upbringing or lack thereof that you are blaming yourself for coming between Haley and me for something you had no control over, but let me say this just once… Don't. I know you don't really believe in fate or God for that matter, but you'll soon discover that once one of our kind finds the one who is meant for us it is inevitable that whatever relationship they are involved in breaks up after that simply because the werewolf in question won't be able to stop thinking about their mate once they have met for the first time. They can't stop thinking about having sex with them, about making love to them, about spending time with them and the more they are around them like I was the more time they want to spend in their presence. Just in the three short years I've known you I had started distancing myself from Haley even though I didn't mean to. I started spending more time at work filling out all the paperwork that the government requires even though a lot of it could have waited. It wasn't intentional, but it happened and Haley could see the writing on the wall, which is why she didn't fight me when I asked her to give me an uncontested divorce. I married Haley right after both of us had finished college, and we were both still extremely young at that time as we were only 23 when we tied the knot, but even before that we were engaged. Yes, I was a very serious type even back then due, I'm sure you know to my upbringing, but even as mature as I was back then I still made a very illogical decision to marry Haley just because I thought I loved her and because my parents approved. I have already told you how my parents preached to me and my brother about marrying a girl from a good family and not to worry about waiting for your mate. When you have that kind of thing preached to you every day for years well it does have an affect and you start to believe what you are told. I'm not even sure I believed that True Mates were real until after you and I had met, which also probably led to my decision to marry Haley."

"I know logically that I really had nothing to do with yours and Haley's break up, but I still can't help feeling guilty about it," Reid said.

"That's because you're such a nice person and had to practically raised yourself from the time you were eight years old," Hotch growled. "However your guilt is misplaced as you had nothing to do with our break up."

"So you said we're married within the werewolf community, so does that mean we're going to get married in the human world as well or keep our relationship secret?" asked Reid.

"Well, we definitely can't get married as that would create paper trial and it might be discovered by somebody outside the team," Hotch said thinking about it. "We definitely don't want Strauss finding out about it as you know how she is, but I don't see why we can't have a commitment ceremony at least."

"I wasn't thinking really when I was talking about us getting married in the human way because I did say awhile back that we can't afford Strauss finding out and that she considers you a loose cannon and would do anything to get rid of you. I don't see why we can't just go down to City Hall and have a commitment ceremony with only the team present as witnesses since they already know about us or at least that we are in a relationship."

Hotch chuckled as he thought about the various members of the team reactions to the news of his and Spencer's relationship.

"What has you so amused?" asked Spencer with a small quirk of his lips.

"I was just thinking about how the other members of the team reacted when we told them about our relationship a couple weeks after we had gotten together," Hotch answered still chuckling.

"I thought Morgan was going to kill you," Reid chuckled as he remembered. "He saw me as the little brother that needed protection from the big bad male and thought that you had forced yourself on me, although he should know you well enough to know that you would never do such a thing. I don't believe Morgan saw me as a man that has desires just like any other until then, which I can understand since I never did date much and when I did I certainly didn't tell anybody about it, which is why Morgan probably thought that I needed protection."

"It's a good thing that you weren't a werewolf at the time," Hotch said quite seriously even as his lips continued to twitch in amusement.

"Why?" asked Reid in confusion.

"Because us wolves are very protective of our mates and new werewolves even more so," Hotch explained. "What that basically means, is that if Morgan had actually gotten his hands on me and you had just been turned into a werewolf you would have been unable to control your reactions and you probably would have killed him without thinking about it because you were trying to protect me. For a wolf to lose their mate would lead to them being very sad and unhappy for the rest of their very long life which is why our instincts always urge us to protect who we consider ours, which includes mate and pups basically. Sometimes just a confrontation where we were yelling and arguing with each other would be enough to do it depending on the werewolf in question of course. If that had happened and Morgan had still been alive, but severely injured I would've been forced to turn him into a werewolf and the rest of the team would know by then that we weren't exactly human, so it was just better that we got our relationship out in the open so that Morgan in particular had time to accept it."

"I knew Morgan would be the biggest barrier to our relationship since I knew he thought of me as his genius kid brother with unquestionable chastity. He didn't see me as a man with needs, which probably has to do with the fact that I am the youngest member of the team, extremely clumsy, unathletic and was and still am extremely shy around women and when I first joined three years ago I was only 23."

"Well, at least we came up with the story that covered how we started our relationship so that none of the rest of the team asked to many questions that we couldn't answer," Hotch said.

"I really don't like lying to them," Spencer said, "I understand the necessity of it, but I don't like it."

"Believe it or not I don't like it either," Hotch told his mate as the two of them lay cuddled together on the couch. "I can certainly understand the Alpha's decision and we both have to obey it, but I don't like it."

"I'm assuming that you won't be in any trouble for telling me?" asked Spencer just a little cautiously.

Hotch shook his head negatively, "We're allowed to tell our mates and you are mine so no I won't be in any trouble over it."

"That's what I figured, but I just wanted to be sure," Spencer said sounding pleased that he had come to the right conclusion.

"I suppose we had better go ahead and start the process of turning you into a werewolf so you have time to used to the changes that will occur before you meet Greg," Hotch said.

"Well, at least once I'm a werewolf I'll be harder to kill," Spencer said almost cheerfully, "which I know will let you relax a little since I know you worry about me a lot when we are out in the field."

"Yes, I will worry a lot less, not that I still won't a little. Besides you need at least a few days to get used to being a werewolf," Hotch said.

"Why?" asked Spencer curiously.

"Well, think about it, a wolf has a sense of smell that makes scents much stronger to them than a human's and you have to get used to smell scents that will now be overwhelming when before you hardly noticed them and also hear sounds much clearer. Also, you'll be able to smell me as well and trust me I'll smell as irresistible to you as you did to me when we first met and I won't be surprised if you have the urge to attack me and fuck me senseless, which I won't object to at all I promise you, but it will take you awhile to be able to resist the urge to want to mate constantly. I was a full-grown werewolf when you walked into my life and I'd had lots of practice at acting normally around humans who weren't in on the secret since the change hits at puberty, but once you and I had met, well, let's just say that all that practice almost went out the window. I almost attacked you on several occasions when we were working together after we had first met, but I managed to restrain myself, barely."

"I had no idea," Spencer said looking astonished.

"Yes, well, I'm not surprised since you were still trying to find your place on the team back then and weren't paying attention to things like that, which I'm grateful for, because it gave me a chance to get myself under control when you were around. I'm just grateful that none of the others on the team noticed either. However, from what I was told when I was a child a new werewolf, one that was created instead of born won't have that kind of restraint and will need at least a few days in order to get it under control and to be around a lot of smells and sounds that will be much stronger then they were before."

"Well, let's do it then," Spencer said. "It's just a good thing that we have the next week off because of that last tough case or now wouldn't be a good time to do it since it will take me at least a few days to adjust. So what does this process involved?"

"It's not really very complicated," Hotch assured him his tone calm although inwardly he was worried that Spencer would reject the idea of drinking his blood since it was kind of gross, although the hospital did gave a person blood when they were severely injured, though that was through a needle not having to actually drink it so maybe his mate would accept it easier than he thought.

"It involves me giving you some of my blood," Hotch explained. "Once you have enough of it in your system you'll automatically be knocked unconscious and it will take you a few hours to transform. Normally just a cup would be enough, unless a person is severely injured."

Spencer made a face at that idea, but he supposed it was no different then receiving blood if you were severely injured and besides he wasn't going to back out now. "Alright then," Spencer said his scientific mind already working. "I'm assuming that you'll blood can also be used to save somebody's life if they are gravely injured if you can get them to swallow it that is."

"It has been known to happen," Hotch admitted. "I do know of one werewolf that was trying to save his female mate and he got her to swallow some of his blood and it healed her, but didn't turn her into a wolf because that little genetic quirk I told you about."

"I have a theory if you're interested in hearing it as to why females can't change into werewolves," Spencer said.

"What's your theory?" asked Hotch knowing that Spencer had a brilliant mind and that he might have come up with a theory that other werewolves hadn't thought of before.

"Well, I was just thinking that going through the change from one form to another is hard on the body," Spencer begin to explain, "and if a female is pregnant and then changes for whatever reason it's possible that she could lose the baby she's carrying, especially if that female doesn't know that she's pregnant at the time. Yes, you told me that you aren't forced to change even on the full moon, but you also said that werewolves get a sense of community and belonging when they run together and that they have to do it frequently in order to stay sane even if that's only once every two or three months. If the woman of the pack were able to shift shape then they would have to remember to not do it if they were pregnant and I'm sure they would feel cut off from the others at that time, which might just drive them into insanity. Well, either that or they would give in and shift and possibly lose the fetus they were carrying."

"That is an interesting theory," Hotch admitted, "and it might be the correct one. It's certainly very logical and well thought out and it certainly makes sense as to why the females can't shift even if they have werewolf genes from their fathers."

"And also from their mothers if they are from within the werewolf community that is," Spencer said. "It is clear however that a males werewolf's genes are dominant because you told me that those who take mates from outside the community if they have sons they can still shift once they hit puberty."

"I never thought about it that way, but then again I'm not trained in science like you are so it's not really surprising since you do have a very scientific mind," Hotch said.

"Well, I suppose we had better get started on that transformation, because who knows when we'll have another week off where we won't at least risk being called in. I was surprised that Strauss agreed to give the whole team an entire week when we're not even on call since we both know that she's usually very far from agreeable."

"We deserved it and I would've gone straight to the director if she hadn't agreed and she knew that. She risked the whole team burning out if she didn't give us this time off where we are not at risk of being called in. What we do has been known to burn out agents before as you know and they either switch to another department or they quit entirely depending on the individual of course," Hotch said. "Strauss may have no love for me or any of the team, but her head would roll if I went to the director and told him about some of the tough cases we have worked recently and how I asked for a week off for the whole team so that we could relax, decompress and not worry about work and how Strauss turned us down. The director would immediately see that his best team in the BAU was at risk of burning out and he wouldn't want that because I'm not bragging when I say we have the highest success rate of solving cases and certainly more than the nightshift. The nightshift's percentage of solving cases is high too, but not as high as ours is and you are a large reason why our percentage is so high."

"Don't exaggerate, Aaron," Spencer said blushing a little.

"I'm not because the percentage of solving cases before you joined the team was around 80% and now it's around 96.7%. Of course it went up a couple of percent after David Rossi came back to the bureau after Gideon left, but the rest of it is due to you," Hotch protested.

Spencer blinked at that as he hadn't realized that the BAU percentage for solving cases had gone up that much once he joined the team.

"You genuinely didn't realize what an invaluable member of the team you have become in just the three years you've been working with us," Hotch said in genuine amazement seeing his mate's rather stunned expression.

"No, I really hadn't realized," Spencer admitted.

"You quote statistics all day long and yet you didn't know the percentage of solving cases for your job?" asked Hotch amazement still in his tone.

"I never really thought about looking it up," Spencer admitted.

Hotch just shook his head but then said, "Why don't you head to the bedroom and I'll bring you a cup of my blood in a few minutes."

"How are you going to get your blood to give to me?" asked Spencer curiously.

Hotch didn't want to admit that he was going to cut into his own palm and have his blood pour into the cup and he would have to do it again when the wound healed until he had a cupful.

Finally Hotch admitted with reluctance only telling the truth because he had promised never to lie to his mate and said, "I'm going to cut a slash across my palm and then have the blood fall into a cup."

"You're going to what?!" Spencer exclaimed looking totally flabbergasted.

"Don't worry, so much, the wound will heal almost immediately, without a scar and then I'll just have to do it again until I have a full cup," Hotch said.

"And this has to be done every time you turn some male into a werewolf?"

"I'm afraid so," Hotch admitted. "If there was a wolf doctor nearby he could take my blood by needle, which would be the less painful way to do it, but the nearest one I know of is two hours from here in a small town, the same one we'll be heading to in a week that is entirely wolf territory."

"We could head up to that town run by wolves tomorrow and have the doctor up there do it?" Spencer suggested tentatively but Hotch shook his head.

"No, we need to get it done tonight so that you have time to adjust to all the changes you'll be experiencing. It's foolish to waste anymore time even though I know you'll adjust to all the changes rapidly. Some of the changes you'll be going through are harder to control then others like your eyes changing to those of the wolf, especially when I'm around at least it first. Right before I met you I smelled your scent," Hotch's eyes glazed over as he remembered. "The second I did it immediately caused a reaction and my eyes changed those of the wolf and my canines began to drop. Luckily I was in my office alone at the time. I had just managed to get it under control when Gideon knocked on my office door and then brought you to meet me. I had good control of my reactions when it came to stuff like that happening, but the second I smelled your scent was the second I lost all the control I thought I had. It took me weeks to finally stop having that kind of reaction around you and that was only because I took measures in order to prevent my eyes changing or my canines dropping in front of you or the others on the team. The same thing will happen to you when you need at least a few days to learn to control it, although that might not be enough as I had years of practice at not allowing myself to have that kind of reaction until you came into my life."

"Alright then," Spencer said resigned. "I just don't like the thought of you having to hurt yourself in order to get the blood that you need."

"I'll be fine and the wound will be gone in just a few seconds," said Hotch.

"But then you have to do it again and maybe even a third time to get the amount of blood required," Spencer said with the pained look on his face.

"I believe that twice will be enough," Hotch said, "especially since I plan on making a fairly long cut on the palm of my hand so that I can avoid any arteries."

"I'll be waiting in the bedroom," Spencer said not wanting to admit that he couldn't bear to watch Aaron cut himself just so he could be changed into a werewolf.

"I'll be there in just a few minutes," Hotch promised tenderly giving Spencer one last kiss before he shooed him towards the bedroom.

Spencer nodded and disappeared down the short corridor heading for the master bedroom that had become his as well as Aaron in the last six weeks.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

"Here you go," Hotch said handing Spencer one of the kitchen cups that had been filled with his blood.

Spencer looked into the mug to find that it was almost full, except for a little ring around the top.

"How long will I be out?" asked Spencer.

"I'm not really sure," Hotch admitted. "At least the few hours, although it could be all night. You're not injured though so the change should be faster. I've been told everyone is different."

"Will you be here the whole time?" asked Spencer tentatively.

"I won't leave your side," Hotch promised his mate tenderly rubbing a soothing hand down his back on top of his shirt. "I can't wait until you change and then you will know without a doubt that we are mates, who are meant to be and that I have no intention of ever leaving you, which I know you secretly fear."

"How do you know that?" Reid whispered wondering how Hotch the man he loved had figured out what he had been thinking on occasion, although he was so happy now that he didn't let his thoughts wander in that direction very often.

"I am a profiler," Hotch told him with a raised eyebrow. "Besides I've known you for three years now and in that amount time I have come to know you probably better than you know yourself. I know you feel that I will get tired of you and leave you and nothing could be farther from the truth as I would rather rip out my own spleen then ever leave you."

Reid made a face at that graphic description, which shouldn't gross him out considering he saw far worse things almost every day with his job, but the niggling little voice in his head that said Aaron would leave him at first opportunity quieted down for the moment. "That's a bit graphic," Reid said blandly.

"I'll continue to be graphic for as long as it takes to convinces you that I'm not going anywhere," Hotch told him entirely unsympathetically. "After you finish your change I will no longer have a reason to be so graphic since you will know without a doubt that we belong together and I would rather lose an arm or a leg than ever leave you. You better go ahead and drink that as it is better when it's fresh and also more effective or at least that's what I've been told," Hotch added.

"Alright," Reid agreed with a little smile giving Aaron one last kiss, the last one he would receive from him as a human. "I'll see you on the other side," Reid added before gulping down the whole cup of blood as fast as he possibly could almost gagging at the coppery, nasty taste, with the underlaying taste of well canine, which he supposed was to be expected.

Hotch took the mug from Spencer's fingers before he could drop it and and then said gently, "You had better lay down before you fall to the floor. The blood will make you dizzy, make your vision blur and possibly also make you a little nauseous as well and within just a few minutes you will be unconscious and it will be better if you are laying down when that happens as it will work it's way through your system quite fast."

Spencer followed Hotch's instructions and lay down on what had become his side of the king sized bed while Aaron lay down on his side wanting nothing more than to hold his mate, but knowing that was a bad idea until the change was complete, so instead he just lay beside him and stroked his hair soothingly.

"Well, you were right I am incredibly dizzy, so I am glad I am laying down," Spencer said sounded incredibly sleepy, "and my vision is starting to really blur as well."

"Shhh! Just rest and let the change take over," Hotch soothed him continuing to stroke a hand through his mate's dark brown hair.

Reid complied and fell silent and it was less than five minutes later that he was deeply asleep.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Several hours later, Hotch was still looking at his mate who was sleeping peacefully only moving very occasionally as the change raced through him. Hotch could smell the change that was happening as his mate smelled more like a wolf with every minute that passed and less like a human. Really werewolves were both human and wolf and so really they smelled like both, but soon the change would be complete and Spencer would be part wolf as well as part human just like he was. Hotch knew that Spencer would immediately know that he was his mate and would immediately realize that what he, Aaron Hotchner was being completely and brutally honest when he had said about how he would rather lose an arm or a leg then leave him for he would feel the same way. It wasn't that Spencer didn't feel that way now, but once the change was complete it would be different, as his mate would know exactly what he meant when he'd said that because he would be able to smell that Aaron was his mate just like he was Spencer's.

Hotch knew that he should get some rest as Spencer would probably be out until morning as the change took time as it wasn't a very fast process and even slower if a person was injured before they received the blood of a werewolf in order to heal and change.

Hotch could already tell that Spencer's form had changed considerably, but then he was the only one that knew the other man intimately and what he looked like under his clothes, while the rest of the team did not so it wouldn't be noticeable to anybody else, but Spencer had developed considerable muscles in his arms and legs and although he was still extremely slim he had filled out somewhat in the stomach and chest area and Hotch know that more food at every meal for awhile would take care of the rest. Actually Spencer should start eating more anyway because he should have an appetite like…well a wolf now, which meant that he should start eating more naturally, although how they were going to explain that fact to the team, whenever they were together Hotch didn't know. Hotch was well aware that the team knew Spencer's eating habits since they ate together so often on cases and it would be strange if Spencer suddenly changed them.

Well, he would worry about that later after Spencer was awake and Hotch could hardly wait for that to occur because he would be very surprised if his mate didn't attack him as soon as he woke up due to the smell that he knew was emanating from his very skin, especially his cock and groin area. The scent would be very strong and absolutely irresistible to Spencer's new sensitive nose alone.

Hotch allowed himself to relax and close his eyes keeping one arm across Spencer's chest so that he would know the second that the other man started to wake up and drifted off to sleep with his mate's scent in his nostrils.

Hours later, around five a.m., Hotch who had been sleeping only lightly felt Spencer beginning to move and he awoke immediately knowing that his mate was beginning to wake and that the change was complete. Hotch was actually surprised that the change had taken so long since his mate hadn't been injured in anyway before it like sometimes happened, but then Hotch knew that it had probably been erasing any preexisting medical conditions, since it did change a man's DNA although there were certain things that it could not do like if Spencer had had a bad heart for example it wouldn't have corrected that, but now his mate would be so healthy that he would never even catch a cold anymore which was good as far as Hotch was concerned. There was so many diseases of the blood that he would no longer have to worry about—like cancer of any type—his mate getting although there were other conditions that even a werewolf could get, mostly things like a bad heart because the arteries were blocked because of too much cholesterol or a preexisting heart condition, although if that had been the case then Spencer probably wouldn't even have survived the change since it did put a bit of a strain on the heart while it was occurring.

"What's that smell?" asked Spencer immediately opening his eyes, which changed to those of the wolf, his nostrils quivering at the most enticing, delicious, luscious scent he had ever smelled in his entire life. The smell was like the very essence of maleness, a scent that Spencer couldn't really describe adequately and along with that smell of maleness was the scent of, well, bourbon, which he knew was Hotch's favorite alcoholic drink along with the smell of well…sex. Spencer felt his new canines drop and his cock stand at attention and all he wanted was to attack Aaron and fuck him senseless, preferably for hours until they both fell into an exhausted slumber, only to wake and do it again. Reid remembered what Hotch had told him about how he would know with absolute certainty that the two of them were mates and he would know because of that irresistible smell, that emanated from your mate's very skin and Reid knew that what he was smelling was coming from Aaron as there was nowhere else it could be emanating from. Spencer realized that his fear of Aaron leaving him had just disappeared like a puff of smoke because if he smelled as irresistible to Aaron as Aaron did to him then there was no way in heaven or hell that he could ever leave for it would kill him if he did and he knew it would be the same for Hotch. All these thoughts raced through his mind in just a few seconds and once they had come to a conclusion Reid turned towards the man that he now knew with absolute certainty was his mate, just as Aaron had told him, not that he had ever really doubted it. He could see that Aaron was observing him with a small smirk on his lips and Spencer could tell that Hotch knew exactly what he was thinking and also what was about to happen.

Reid practically leapt on top of his mate who was completely buck naked, not even wearing a pair of underwear and began nipping one of his nipples on his very naked chest.

Hotch moaned as pleasure went through him so strongly that he was surprised that he didn't come from that alone as his cock was already as hard as steel, no, no a diamond and was quite painful. His cock had never reacted this strongly to anybody before, not even Haley. He had known that this was going to happen and that his Spencer wouldn't be able to resist the smell that he knew was emanating from his very skin once he was a wolf and he had been right. Boy had he been right! And he couldn't be more happy about that.

Hotch felt his mate move downward and it was only a few seconds later that he had his nose buried in the dark hair that surrounded his penis and he could tell that Reid was inhaling the scent seeming to find it irresistible, just like he did his mate's. Suddenly Hotch felt his mate's very wet tongue licking up-and-down his extremely hard cock and the sounds of pleasure that Reid was making were driving him wild with desire.

"So this is what you meant," Reid managed to ask even though it wasn't really a question. "This scent, that seems to be emanating from your very skin, especially your nether region is so, enticing that all I want to do is wrap myself up in it and never leave. I want to fuck you senseless again and again until we're both so exhausted all we want to do is sleep, although once we wake…"

"You'll fuck me again?" asked Hotch and Spencer nodded. "Yes, this is what I meant, I could no more leave you then I could cut off a hand," Hotch added his voice strained as the feelings that were coursing through him told him he was just on the edge of his climax and would go over with just the slightest bit of extra encouragement. "You do not choose your mate, you discover them and I discovered mine in you three years ago."

"I don't know how you waited so long to tell me, I'm having trouble resisting just fucking you senseless," Reid said blushing as he spoke.

"Well, I do have a lot more experience controlling myself then you do," Hotch pointed out his voice sounding extremely hoarse and strained. "You're a new werewolf, I'm anything but. We can continue this later though and you're welcome to get back to what you were doing. If you want to fuck me hard go right ahead as I won't even be sore in the morning thanks to my werewolf healing ability, something you now also possess."

"No more sore muscles when we have rough sex?" asked Spencer perking up as he hadn't thought about that aspect of being a werewolf and it was bonus as far as he was concerned. Before he had been a werewolf Hotch had had to be gentle with him most of the time in case they were called in, although there had been a couple times where they'd had rough and fast sex, but not very many because he was so sore afterwards and he didn't want to be limping if they had been called into work.

"No and you won't have to worry about broken bones either because if you do break one it will heal in a matter of hours and of course it's much harder to break bones now, although it's still possible," Hotch said.

Reid liked the thought of that because he'd already had several broken bones and cracked ribs that he had gotten in the course of the job and to not have to worry about it so much, would be a godsend although he knew that it was still possible just a lot harder.

Reid went back at what he had been doing, starting to pleasure his mate again and it wasn't long before Aaron was screaming his name and pulling on his hair because his fingers were entangled in the silky strands and spurting his seed all over him as well as himself. Hotch had even left several long scratches marks on his back from having his fingernails dig into his skin that had healed immediately, which was another bonus as far as Reid was concerned, although who knew that his lover who was usually so controlled and serious could be such a wildcat and very inventive in bed? Not that he was about to object, because he wasn't stupid and he liked this side of his mate, a side that was only let loose with him, which pleased Spencer no end.

Reid thrust in and out of his mate eagerly several more times before he to released his seed deep into his lover's body collapsing on top of his mate as his climax ripped through him, feeling Aaron's body shudder beneath him as his climax continued until it finally stilled his lover's orgasm finally subsiding.

"Whoah! That was damn spectacular," Reid said once he had caught his breath from his rather earthshattering climax he had just had. "Even better than before I was a wolf."

"And you are welcome to do that to me anytime you like and although the lube does make it easier it's not necessarily needed," Hotch said as he cradled his mate in his arms tenderly causing Reid to purr happily sounding almost like a kitten instead of a wolf. "It doesn't matter how rough either one of us is because we'll heal whatever damage is caused in a matter of minutes or even seconds depending on what it is. We definitely don't need to be as careful as we would if we were human. And Spencer just so you know that was just as spectacular and earthshattering for me as it was for you. I like this aggressive side of you just so long as it comes out to play when we are alone."

"Don't worry this side of me is reserved for our private life," Reid told him leaning in to breathe in Aaron's intoxicating scent and then kissing the side of his neck, nipping the skin a little, wishing he could leave the older man with a hickey, but knowing it would only heal in minutes so there really wasn't any point. "It's going to be difficult though to keep my hands off you when we're working together or in some public place."

"It will get easier over time," Hotch promised him burying his nose in the Spencer's soft brunette curls taking in the smell of his shampoo.

"I don't know how I'm going to go back to walk in a week and not want to attack you every time I smell your intoxicating aroma," Spencer laminated. "It sure is going to be hard to concentrate especially if we have a case and we have to fly somewhere. Being in such an enclosed environment as the cabin of a airplane with your scent all over the place is going to drive me crazy. I don't know how you did it for three years even though you have much more practice than I do at acting normally, especially considering how much we travel for work."

"It wasn't easy, even for me," Hotch admitted. "It was still extremely difficult to control myself around you, especially in an enclosed environment like an airplane cabin, but I managed thanks to all the years I'd had perfecting my control. If not for all those years of experience I probably wouldn't have been able to do it no matter how stubborn I am as honestly it was still extremely hard. After we had sex that first time though it got easier for me because I knew you were mine and the same thing should happen to you too."

"Why is it easier after the first time?" Spencer asked curiously.

"I'm not really sure," Hotch admitted. "I just know from talking to some other mated couples that it's always difficult to be in an enclosed space with them, until after the first time they make love. It probably has something to do with the bond that is between couples that are meant to be mates and when you make love with them that first time well that bond solidifies, instead of being tenuous."

The two men lay there silently for a few minutes and then Hotch said, "Come on get dressed I'm taking you out for a nice breakfast."

"You don't have to do that," Spencer protested blushing a little.

"No, I don't, but we are mates," Hotch said as if that explained everything and to Aaron perhaps it did. "I have no intention of us hiding ourselves away like I'm ashamed about our relationship and the truth of the matter is I would be shouting it from the rooftops if we didn't need to be discreet because of our jobs," Hotch went on to explain. "Yes, we need to keep it low-key at work, but outside that arena I plan on taking you out for a meal, when we have free time, or spending time with you out in public, whether that's at a bookstore, or a bar, or anywhere else for that matter. Our relationship isn't just about sex, although that's certainly out of this world, but about the little things to. Married couples go out on dates all the time and while our schedule is rather hectic, I plan on doing that whenever we have free time. We will be celebrating our anniversary, the day that we officially got together and if we ever do have that commitment ceremony we will be celebrating that as well. We will have to use discretion even away from work because we don't want word to get back to Strauss, but unless she actually catches us, there's nothing she can do really and even if she does so long as we still act professionally at work she really doesn't have a leg to stand on."

"But relationships are forbidden between team members," Spencer said.

"They're strongly discouraged," Hotch corrected, "but it has been allowed in the past just so long as it can be proven that they can act professionally on the job."

"Strauss will uses it as an excuse just to fire you," Spencer protested.

"So I'll go to the director if she tries and he will side with us once he sees it hasn't affected our professionalism while we are working. Besides I know several things about her that would force her to take early retirement if she pushes me too far and if that doesn't work I'll just sic Dave on her who has something that's even better on her than what I do."

"So what do you have on her?" asked Spencer curiously.

"I know she has a drinking problem and that it has affected her work occasionally," Hotch explained. "That would at the very least force her to go see the bureau shrink and possibly force her into rehab. I know she doesn't want her problem revealed, but I'd do it if she did try to fire me over something like our relationship."

"So what does Rossi have on her?" asked Spencer.

"I don't know, I just know that he does have something that will probably see her fired or at least forced to take early retirement. Dave would never tell me what he has on her, but he promised me that it was something that could see the end of her career if it came out," Hotch said. "He has known her for much longer then I have and they did have a relationship years ago, so he knows more about her past then I do."

Reid had known that and although he was still curious he didn't comment and instead started to rise from the bed. "I'm going to take a shower, care to join me?"

"Absolutely!" Hotch said enthusiastically, making Reid smile still amazed at the effect he had on the man he'd adored and would never leave while he still drew breath.

Reid started on the shower as soon as he finished disrobing and stepped over the rim of the tub Hotch following. Suddenly Hotch had a craving. He wanted to see his mate all soapy now! "Can I wash your back?" Hotch offered with a smirk already knowing how his mate was going to respond to the offer.

"Sure," Reid said happily turning so that his back was facing his mate. Hotch soaped up a washcloth and began to gently run it up and down his mate's back in long strokes.

"Ahh," Reid sighed happily. "That feels so good."

"And I'll be happy to do this for you anytime you like," Hotch told him.

"And I'll be happy to let you, so long as you will let me return the favor," Spencer said.

Reid's cock twitched as his mate continued to run the washcloth gently up and down his back and after Hotch had washed every inch of it he moved downwards and started washing the back of his legs.

Suddenly Spencer felt a soapy finger in his hole moving around causing his desire for his mate to spike and his cock which had been half hard already, harden even further, and then there were two fingers. Finally the fingers were removed and Spencer felt Aaron's tongue enter his hole rimming him as he moved it around. Finally Aaron seemed to find what he was searching for and Spencer felt an intense surge of pleasure go through him as his mate hit his prostrate with his tongue.

"Aaron, I need you now!" Reid demanded as his cock went from half cocked to fully erect as Aaron hit his prostrate for the second time.

"Have patience, babe," Hotch teased him, although he was very excited and eager to fulfill his mate's demand.

Spencer growled and Hotch knew that patience wasn't going to be one of his mate's long suits at least until he got used to the changes that he had undergone. Right now in someways Spencer was like a baby who was just learning how to walk and talk and it would take awhile before he had patience, especially when he came to having sex with him. Hotch could certainly understand that since he remembered having to learn patience after he had undergone his first transformation into his wolf form after he hit puberty many years ago now.

Finally Hotch could wait no longer to take his mate and he had been this way ever since he and Spencer had gotten together and they had more than made up for the three years that he had waited to tell the younger man that they were mates just in the last six weeks as they had sex multiple times a day, unless they were extremely exhausted. He would never get enough of fucking his mate senseless for as long as he lived and he knew that Spencer felt the same way he did. Spencer was always eager, to make love as soon as they had the privacy to do so and had attacked him more than once as soon as the two of them had entered their apartment together and in fact sometimes Spencer barely waited for the front door to be closed before pouncing on him.

"Brace your hands against the wall," Hotch ordered gruffly and Spencer did as ordered glad to have the support as his legs were feeling extremely shaky and weak, just from what his mate had done to him so far.

Hotch wasted no time knowing that his mate was more than ready for the penetration of his cock and so he lined it with Spencer's hole and pushed himself inside. He went slowly at first, and only when Spencer begin to push himself backwards, so that his cock went deeper into his mate's body did he start to go faster changing the angle with every thrust until he hit his mate's prostrate again, causing Spencer to yelp as pleasure surged through him, even stronger then last time.

"Faster, Aaron! I need you to go faster!" Spencer begged shamelessly.

"It will be a pleasure," Hotch growled as he started to move his cock faster in and out of his mate's body making sure to hit Spencer's prostrate with every thrust. Finally Spencer could hold back his climax no longer and his cock exploded all over the shower wall, while at the same time Hotch released his seed deep into his mate's body.

Both men panted trying to catch their breathes from their earthshattering climaxes, but finally they finished washing each other's body and then stepped out of the shower.

"Love you," Reid we told his mate.

"Love you too," Hotch assured the younger man taking him into his arms and holding him close for a minute, before the two of them continued out of the bathroom to get ready for the day ahead.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

"There's no reason to be nervous," Hotch told the younger man as he drove, although he knew Reid wasn't really one for crowds or meeting important people like the pack Alpha. "I know you remember what I taught you about pack customs."

It was only a day before the full moon and so the two of them had made plans to spend a couple of days down here, have Spencer meet the pack Alpha and some of the other pack members, do a little shopping and perhaps find a place of their own for when they visited, since Haley had kept the place that the two of them had had down here and at the time Hotch hadn't contested it since he was the one who had asked for a divorce.

"Always show proper respect to the pack Alpha and his mate," Spencer recited then went on to recite the rest of what Aaron had told him.

"Try to relax, you will be accepted by the Alpha. Really it is just a formality since you are my mate and I am part of the pack. If the Alpha rejects you then he would reject me and that won't sit well with a lot of the wolf community."

"So does that mean that the rest of the pack will accept me? Or us as as mates?" asked Spencer.

Hotch shrugged, "Some of them will probably resent you just because they'll feel that you're taking Haley's place, because she is well liked. Most of the wolf community just assumed we were mates when we moved here and neither one of us ever corrected that assumption. As you know mates don't separate—ever. However others opinions don't matter because none will try to separate mates whether they like them or not and so they might resent you, but they will take no action against you because you and I could go to the pack Alpha and he would have whoever was responsible hide and possibly thrown out of the pack or even killed depending on how big of an offense it was. You don't try to separate a mated couple, a truly mated couple, as trying to separate the two of them just because you don't like them or want one of them for yourself, well, that's led to a lot of bloodshed in the past. It hasn't happened in hundreds of years because it's now drilled into every pack members head that mated couples are sacred and even if you just marry like Haley and I did and even if they're not your True Mate it's still considered sacred."

"I bet a few hundred years ago same-sex couples weren't accepted whether they were mates or not," Spencer suggested. "It's only very recently that two men or two women being together has become more acceptable, although there is still a lot of prejudice against it. In the past you could be pilloried, flogged or spend time in the stocks if it was discovered that two men or two women were having sex."

"You're right about that," Hotch agreed. "A lot of people believed back then that God or the fates or whatever would not have chosen two wolves of the same sex to be together in that way. Even now in what is the 21st century some wolves all over the world still do not accept or like same-sex couples. On the other hand there's nothing they can really do about it because as I said mated couples are sacred and only wolves who are mates can tell that they are meant for each other. No other wolf can smell the scent of another wolf's mate and that's just the way it is."

Hotch shrugged again. "We won't be here much anyway so it doesn't really matter if others of the pack resent us because we'll see them so seldom as we can be polite when we do see them. We have our own lives to live and we will come for some of the full moons and maybe occasionally when it's not when we we're not on a case, but for the most part…"

"We'll just be too busy to visit much," Spencer said and Hotch nodded in agreement.

"Although we both will want to transform into our wolf forms occasionally whether it is a full moon or not just because we have to remember we are that we are wolves to and they have instincts and will to run, romp and play sometimes. So are you looking forward to your first full moon tomorrow?" asked Hotch changing the subject smiling when Spencer nodded excitedly.

"I am," Spencer said honestly. "Ever since you transformed me into a werewolf a few days ago I'm not half as clumsy as I used to be and while I'm worried about changing into a werewolf for the first time you'll be there to help me through it."

"You'll love it," Hotch assured him with a smile. "It will be easy and painless to change into your wolf form and then your instincts will take over and all you have to do is let them. You'll need to not let that big brain of yours get in the way of your instincts and let it try to figure out what to do. All you really need to do is feel and your instincts will do the rest. As for you not being clumsy anymore that's to be expected as a wolf always moves silently and fluidly and you are part wolf now even if you will be in your human form most of the time. I'm sure you've noticed that you have more muscles in your arms and legs in particular now and that you also much stronger than you were before the transformation."

"I did," Spencer said. Reid remembered looking at himself in the full length mirror that was part of his and Hotch's wardrobe and he had seen how the muscles in his arm's had increased substantially and so had the ones in his legs and even his abdomen had filled out. "It's kind of nice if you know what I mean."

"I do," Hotch said with a smile. "After you transform for the first time your appetite will also increase, especially for red meat so don't be surprised if you eat more than you used to or if you crave rare steak or at least some form of red meat all the time."

"I've noticed that I eat at least twice as much as I used to," Spencer blushed embarrassed at his eating habits lately, as he hadn't used to eat quite so much before the transformation.

"That's perfectly normal for the wolf needs a lot more food then you were used to consuming for a meal. I wouldn't be surprised if you get hungry a lot more quickly than you used to or if you eat three times as much as you used to if you skip a meal. You have to remember that you have filled out considerably, especially in muscle, since the transformation and thanks to that it will take more energy in order to keep your body going and that means more food."

"I know you're right and even before the transformation I didn't really eat enough, which is why my mother is always complaining that I'm too thin when I visit, but when you grow up having to take care of your mother instead of her having to take care of you, well, you get into certain habits, eating sandwiches or cereal or anything that doesn't require cooking instead of fixing yourself a full meal. Besides I'm not really much of a cook and although we could've afforded to eat order in more then we did, I didn't want anybody to see what kind of condition my mother was in because I would've been sent to a foster home if that had happened, which wouldn't have been good. It was a very delicate balancing act at least until I went off to college at not quite 13. Good eating habits are ingrained in childhood and your body gets used to eating what it is given before it is grown and my mother started to display her schizophrenia by the time I was six."

"And that's when things started to go downhill for you," Hotch said and Spencer nodded looking sad and a little pensive.

"Yes, it was only about two years later that dad left and never looked back, never contacted me and just tried to pretend that mom and me had never existed in the first place," Spencer said. "The only good thing he did for us was leave us his portfolio of stocks so that we would at least have money and I have increased the value of those over the last seven years, since I started investing when I was of legal age to do so."

"I'm not really surprised that you're so good at investing," Hotch told him with a smile. "Because you're so intelligent you do your research first to see which stocks will make money and you're good at using math and estimating. Of course you can't predict everything."

"That's true and I have made a few bad investments but only because of something tragic like the death of the head of the company or the company goes under because of poor management or bad reviews in the newspaper, but mostly whatever company I pick does well," said Spencer. "Besides I never put all my eggs in one basket as the saying goes and I invest just a little here and a little there."

"And you never even got a business degree," Hotch teased him causing Spencer to laugh. "Of course you don't really need one with that big brain of yours and some people who go to business school don't do as well as you have even with the degree."

The two men fell silent and just enjoyed each other's company for the rest of the trip which wasn't long as they were almost at their destination.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Spencer looked around him in amazement as the two of them got out of the car after parking in front of the house that belonged to the pack Alpha. It was two storeys, painted in a very dark shade of blue with white shutters and a green roof. The lawn was well taken care of and looked like it had just been mowed and the house freshly painted, within the last few months. Reid looked around him again not used to seeing houses so far apart that he could see the next one from where he was standing in. Unfortunately he didn't have anymore time to sightsee as Aaron was knocking on the Alpha's door and it was almost immediately opened by a big man that was even bulkier then Hotch was and also several inches taller.

"Ah, you must be Spencer," Greg said shaking Reid's hand politely. "Aaron has told me about you. I'm Greg Raynor."

"It's nice to meet you," Reid said concealing his distaste at the ritual of shaking hands as he knew in this case it was necessary and bared his neck to the Alpha in respect.

"Why don't you come in," Greg offered and Spencer and Aaron entered the house at the Alpha's invitation.

Greg led the way to the living room Aaron and Spencer following and once they were situated Greg's wife joined them from the kitchen. "Spencer, meet my wife Maggie."

"It's nice to meet you," Maggie said her distaste plain. "It's good to see you again to Aaron, although I had no idea that you played for the other team."

Spencer tried not to bristle at that insult that he knew perfectly well what it meant and he had known that he would be facing prejudice from a lot of people and so he told himself to relax, that it didn't matter what other people thought, not even the wife of the pack Alpha so long as he and Aaron were together and their friends accepted their relationship.

"I didn't know, until after I had met Spencer, is that a problem?" asked Aaron his tone of voice neutral, although if you knew him well you would be able to tell that he was pissed off.

Maggie simply sniffed in disdain, but didn't reply because Greg shot her a look that let her know that her behavior was inappropriate and that they would be having a talk later about it. Maggie got up to leave after getting drink orders and everybody relaxed once she was gone.

"I'm sorry for Margaret's behavior, I will speak to her," Greg told Spencer and Aaron.

"It's alright," Spencer told him with a small smile. "I already knew that I would meet people who thought two men in a relationship was wrong long before Aaron and I got together."

"But that is out in the human world where such things are not accepted sometimes, but here on pack lands you should not feel that people hate or at least resent your relationship just because you are two men simply because a wolf only has one mate and they will never take another if their mate dies. No wolf who finds their mate can help who that is as there is no changing it and they would be miserable if they couldn't be with the person that was meant for them just because people didn't like the thought of a couple who are both men."

"I hadn't thought of it like that," Spencer admitted, "and the way my mind works I should have."

"Nonsense, you've only been a wolf a few days at least from what Aaron has told me on the phone and you have a lot of changes to get used to."

"Spencer is picking up everything with incredible speed," Hotch told the pack Alpha causing Reid to blush at the compliment. Hotch was very proud of Spencer who had relaxed a great deal ever since this meeting with the pack Alpha had begun and Hotch knew Reid hated doing stuff like this, but it was going very well. "He accepted that werewolves existed far easier than even I thought he would, even though I knew he had a very logical and scientific mind and would accept it if presented with enough evidence."

"Why did you accept it so easily?" asked Greg curiously.

"Well, Aaron had spent the last three years of us working together building trust between us," Reid explained slowly. "I don't trust easily not since I was a child and it takes me awhile to trust people once I meet them. It took me over a year before I trusted any of the team, really trusted them, outside the job to always be there when I needed them. Aaron is right when he says I have a very logical and scientific mind that works differently from most people's."

"In what way?" asked Greg genuinely interested in what Spencer was saying.

"I see patterns far more easily than most people do," Reid explained calmly. "It's one of the things that makes me so good at what I do in the BAU. I don't mean to insult anyone's intelligence, it's just that the human mind is it usually not adapt at picking up patterns that are found everywhere you look really. My mind just sees these patterns while others don't see them like I do. Really the human race creates patterns of one sort or another every time they build something for example, but they do it subconsciously and don't really realize what they're doing. This is true for the unsubs the team goes after as most of them create patterns to their kills even if they don't realize what they're doing, simply because it is human nature."

Greg listened in fascination to Aaron's mate talk and realized that what Aaron had told him about Spencer Reid was correct he really was a very intelligent man.

"He's also the go to person for handwriting and linguistic analysis," Hotch added at a natural pause in the conversation. "Spencer can tell a lot from somebody's like through their handwriting and also the wording."

"I know analyzing somebody's handwriting was possible but I've never understood how," Greg said.

"Well, people convey emotion when they write," Reid explained calmly going into lecture mode. "If you're angry that's going to show up in whatever you're trying to say on paper, so long it is not done by computer, the letters tend to be kind of short and choppy, if someone is being honest well the letters will look normal and if someone is trying to lie..."

"That's really fascinating," Greg said being very sincere.

"There is also wording to consider and you can often tell what kind of person wrote something and whether it was male or female or a teenager or even a kid just by the way something is worded, even if they are doing their best to conceal their identity."

"How?" asked Greg.

"Well, for example there are certain word that a man uses that a female doesn't even think about as the two genders think in different ways and therefore use different descriptive words and phrases," Reid explained still a little tense, but beginning to relax a lot as this was going better than he expected.

"So when told me that you went to college much younger then is the norm," Greg said.

"I did," Spencer replied. "I graduated high school at 12 and I wasn't quite 13 when I went to Caltech. I have B.A.s in Sociology and Psychology and Ph.D.s in mathematics, engineering and chemistry. I am currently working on one in philosophy."

"Wow! Aaron did say you were genius but I wasn't sure if he was being serious or not."

"I would never lie about something like that," Hotch told Greg looking insulted.

"Well, I figured you were just lovestruck," Greg said. "You know that somebody in love will say things about their partner all the time just because they're looking at them through rose colored lenses."

"I can't imagine Aaron acting all dopey even if he is in love," Spencer commented making Aaron smile. "Acting like that just isn't in his nature. I suppose it's possible he did when he was a teenager, although that is hard for me to imagine, but not now."

"That's true he isn't really the type," Greg admitted, "but sometimes when you have found your mate that can change if only temporarily. So what are your plans while you're here?"

"Not much really," Hotch answered before Reid could. "We thought we'd look for a small apartment that we could use for when we are here, instead of staying at the bed and breakfast, go to the gathering that is planned for this afternoon so that we can meet more the werewolves in the area and of course be here for the full moon. Also I thought I'd show Spencer around town and where everything is if we have time for that."

"I hope to see you both more often whenever you can manage it out of your busy schedules," Greg said. "Welcome to the pack Spencer I'm looking forward to getting to know you better and hope to see you often. Don't worry about Maggie I'll speak to her."

"Thank you, but you don't have to do that," Spencer protested.

"Her behavior was inappropriate and she knows that," Greg told Reid gently who fell silent and nodded even though he didn't like it. No one questioned the pack Alpha. "Same-sex couples aren't exactly as accepted in Virginia as they are elsewhere, but you and Aaron are not the only couple who are both male, and Maggie as well as some of the others who lives around here need to learn that it doesn't matter what sex your mate is because our kind only has one person that is meant for us and once a wolf finds their mate well they are miserable without them and it has often led to suicides in the past depending on the circumstances. Besides common courtesy is expected here on pack lands at least, which everyone in the pack deserves even if it's clear that the two people greeting each other hate the other person't guts or at least strongly dislikes them."

"Yes, Aaron did mention that sometimes a wolf gets rejected by the person that is their mate," Spencer said, "and that usually leads to that wolf's suicide and sometimes the suicide of his mate."

"Unfortunately true," Greg said looking sad. "Some humans just don't know how or even want to accept that werewolves are real, especially if they grew up outside the pack. In the human world there are books and movies about werewolves and how they are uncontrollable monsters, especially doing the full moon. Unfortunately a lot of people read those stories and believe that they are what us wolves were meant to be and a lot of times they won't listen to any other explanation. There has even been a time or two as well to were a wolf's potential mate just thinks that wolf is insane or making stuff up, although the result is the same in the end."

"Again it goes back to human nature and a lot of people don't believe things like werewolves are real as I know I certainly didn't before Aaron demonstrated it for me by turning into his wolf shape. Most children start out believing in things that adults don't tell them aren't real and if a child hears that often enough he loses his sense of wonder and starts to disbelieve in things like Santa Claus or the Easter bunny. That's what starts it you know, the adults in their lives tell them that such things can't possibly exist and never have and when that happens well it goes from there to where they stop believing in anything that they can't see or touch or can be proven. Some children manage to retain their sense of wonder once they are adults and they become some of our greatest writers, inventors and scientist, but a lot of them do not, which is sad I'll admit, but unfortunately the world is geared towards the logical and not towards just having faith that something exists whether or not you have ever seen it. Yes, we have TV shows about all these fantastical creatures, like unicorns, dragons, leprechauns or books or movies based on the same things be most people just consider it a good story and don't really believe any of it."

"Like werewolves?" asked Greg with a twinkle in his dark eyes.

"Like werewolves," Spencer agreed with a little smile.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

"I'm very proud of you and how you conducted yourself with Greg," Hotch told Spencer as soon as they had left Greg's house and started to drive around town.

"Thank you," Spencer said blushing a little at the compliment. "It went far better than I expected it to if you want to know the truth."

"Well, it's over now and you have been accepted into the pack, which I had no doubt would be the outcome of the meeting," Hotch said.

"Yes, I have been accepted by Greg," Spencer agreed having been told to call Greg by his first name. "Now, I just have to get through the gathering later this afternoon meeting the other werewolves who will probably end up being like Maggie and not liking me either because they feel that I'm taking Haley's place or because I'm male and they don't like same sex-couples."

"Don't be so pessimistic," Hotch chided his mate gently, although he could certainly understand where Reid was coming from and really it was just part of his nature as his childhood hadn't exactly been conducive to making him comfortable in large groups of strangers and his social awkwardness and clumsiness as a human hadn't helped either, but now that he was changed into a werewolf the clumsiness at least had vanished. "Some of the wolves that will be there will likely react just like you think, but some of them will not and you might actually make a few friends."

"I'm not being pessimistic, simply realistic, although it would be nice, but I'm not counting on it," Reid said looking just a little wistful. "You know that before I joined the BAU I didn't have any real friends just people who wanted help with their homework and then abandoned me. Yes, I know that teenagers can be very cruel to someone like me who as is as smart as any ten of them put together, and when I went off about some subject or other they considered me a showoff even though I never meant to, but still that's one of the reasons I don't trust very easily and also why I make such a good profiler. It's ironic as I refined my observation skills on people that I was helping with their homework or some other class project and I learned to tell a lot about a person that way."

"I didn't know that," Hotch said realizing that while he knew a lot about his mate he did not yet know everything, while the same thing could be said about him as Spencer knew a lot about his past, but not all of it. They each had a lifetime of memories after all and it would take years to learn everything about a person

"There's a lot you don't know about me," Reid told him with a little smile leaning over to kiss his mate's cheek, while breathing in his overwhelming, intoxicating scent at the same time.

"I know that's true," Hotch said also with a smile. "Of course there's also a lot you don't know about me so we're even."

Spencer laughed a little at that and the two of them continued to talk pleasantly as Hotch showed his mate the main points of the town which was extremely small.

"There's the general store, where we can pick up a few general supplies and staples, although if you want anything specific you'll either have to order it or we would have to go to a bigger city in order to get it," Hotch said pointing at a weathered storefront where the letters were peeling.

"That's only if we lived here," Reid said knowing very well what Hotch meant. "I know we are going to get a place for when we are here a few times a year and we can bring anything else with us that the general store doesn't have."

"Like books galore?" Hotch suggested with a little smirk, knowing his mate liked to read just about anything.

"Well, a bookcase for them anyway yes, but we'll have to get a place either already with a bookcase or buy one," Reid said. "I could read us out of house and home if I'm not careful."

Hotch loved immediately when his mate said 'read us out of house and home' for it meant that Reid was thinking in the terms of this apartment they were going to get as both of theirs and not just his.

"Do we have cell reception out here?"

"Yes," Hotch answered immediately.

"What about an Internet connection?"

"We have that too," Hotch answered wondering where Reid was going with this.

"I was just thinking that I could get a Kindle or maybe a Nook because I could very easily crowd whatever apartment we get with 1000 books and we wouldn't have anywhere to sleep or even sit down," Reid explained smirking a little as he thought about that. "If it's a small apartment a Kindle or Nook would just be more convenient and so long as there's an Internet connection I can buy whatever books I want and read them on whatever e-book reader I buy instead of filling the apartment with the physical copies."

"I didn't think you liked e-book readers," Hotch said with a little smile.

"Well, I do like the smell and the feeling of the physical book in my hands, the older the better," Reid admitted, "but in this case I'm willing to make an exception, especially since we probably won't be here more than a dozen times a year."

"I'll be surprised if we're here that much," Hotch said. "Half a dozen times a year, probably, if that."

The two men fell silent and Hotch finally parked the car and the two of them got out at the small diner that could've held maybe 20 people tops if they squished together. Hotch continued to give his mate a guided tour and also look for a place that they could rent even if it was just somewhere they could sleep when they were in town.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Hotch and Reid walked into the park were the gathering was taking place and Reid to looked around at all the people, some of who were flipping burgers on gas powered grills. The first thing that Reid noticed was all the children running around and the noise level, then the smell of perfectly grilled hamburgers hit his nose and he started to immediately salivate.

"Why don't we go get something to eat," Hotch said seeing the look of longing on his mate's face as the scent of freshly grilled meat hit his nose as well and made his stomach growl hungrily.

Spencer nodded eagerly and the two of them headed to pick up plates and silverware before getting in a long line.

The two of them had just gotten two hamburgers apiece and were headed over to the table with the sides were located when Haley approached her now ex-husband with Jack in her arms. Hotch's son was now over two years old and was absolutely adorable with Haley's blond hair and blue eyes.

"Daddy," Jack said reaching out his little arms to be held by Hotch.

"Hey buddy," Hotch said putting his plate down and taking his son from Haley's arms. Hotch just gave his son a kiss on the forehead and just held him close. "It's so good to see you."

Jack for his part just cuddled into his father's shoulder and enjoyed the attention.

"Well, Aaron, I see you brought him," Haley said not feeling very charitable towards her ex-husband although she did understand about mates, but that didn't mean she liked it or that the divorce still didn't hurt like hell.

"Of course I did," Hotch said his tone icy, which made Haley stiffen. "I know you don't like the fact that I asked for a divorce, but you know that a wolf only have one mate, but I will never regret our marriage if only because of Jack."

"I know, but I don't like it," Haley said ignoring Spencer completely, not caring how much she hurt him for he had come between her and Aaron. She knew deep down that it wasn't really his fault, that he hadn't done anything to deserve her scorn or hatred, but she couldn't help her feelings. Haley remembered Aaron telling her that Spencer had had trouble with acceptance in his life and that she could at least try to be polite to him even if she didn't like him very much because he had unintentionally come between her and him.

"Haley this is not the place to get into this, but I will tell you this once, our marriage was over the minute I met Spencer and you know this. I didn't go looking for him and I was never unfaithful to you while we were married. I would have been miserable for the rest of our marriage if I had tried to keep it together and that means you would have been. I wouldn't be surprised if you had eventually asked for a divorce just because I had unintentionally distanced myself from you, even if I didn't mean to."

Haley knew this to be true but she still felt anger and resentment about their divorce for she still loved him. She tried not to show how angry she was in front of her son if for no other reason she didn't want him to pick up on the negative emotions. She knew from some books on children she had read that they picked on emotions very easily whether positive of negative and that it could affect their development later in life.

"Haley this is not the place for this discussion as we don't need to argue in front of the whole community. I will always love you, just not in that way anymore. You are the mother of our son after all," Hotch said.

Spencer who didn't want to be listening to his mate and his ex-wife argue tried to distract himself by looking around and when he did he saw people watching the three of them.

"People are starting to notice us standing here arguing," Spencer said blandly, which Hotch knew was his mate's way of hiding his emotions. He know that Reid was highly embarrassed with what was taking place and also hurt by Haley's words, but he was trying to ignore it and that he would much rather be elsewhere, then listen to him and his ex-wife.

"I don't give a damn what you think of me Haley," Hotch told her his eyes changing from his normal human ones, to dark, dark brown with no white showing at all, he was so angry. The change in the eyes was subtle since Hotch's eyes were dark brown anyway, but the way his fangs dropped was not and actually caused Haley to step back a little. It took a lot to get Aaron Hotchner truly angry and she had done it by airing her petty grudge in front of not only all these people, but especially in front of his mate who didn't deserve the scorn or hatred he was getting from her, "but what you are doing to Spencer now by making him listen to something that has nothing to do with him just shows me how selfish and thoughtless you really are. You're taking out your anger and hurt in the middle of a crowded park with Spencer standing right here listening to you being so spiteful and hateful. I'm not saying you don't have a reason to be angry and I truly am sorry about the break up, but you know that it would've ended anyway once I met Spencer. I never meant to hurt you, but we were both young when we got married and we know that we weren't truly mates, but us getting together made both our families happy at that time. Look at what you're doing to Spencer, you can tell how much he'd rather be elsewhere then listening to this yet he's doing his best to just tune us out and not interfere since it is between us."

Haley finally really looked at Spencer and saw that his expression while unreadable his eyes were painful to look at as they were sad, but also distant and distressed. The young man's eyes were so sad in fact that she was surprised there were no tears glimmering at the corners, but they were completely dry and Haley got the impression that the young man who couldn't be more then twenty-five never cried. It was really the distance in his eyes that told her though that her ex-husband's mate was withdrawing into himself and she was the one that had caused it with her grudge. She knew very well that once a wolf found their mate that the pull to be with them that was irresistible.

Really she was lashing out in anger in a public place with people all around and somebody who really had had nothing to do with her divorce standing there. Sure Aaron's mate had come between her and her now ex-husband, but he hadn't known that until very recently and hadn't been involved in the decision and yet she had gone out of her way to start up an argument with him standing there, which had hurt him she could now see. Normally she wasn't a cruel person, but ever since the divorce she had been fighting her anger and at the time her ex-husband and his mate has seemed like a good target to vent some of it.

Haley stalked away taking Jack from Hotch's arms unwilling to apologize and once people saw the argument was over they went back to what they had been doing.

"I'm sorry," Reid said quietly making Hotch turn to look at him quizzically.

"What are you sorry for?" Hotch asked his mate quietly. "Haley's and my break up had nothing to do with you. Haley was just lashing out because she was hurt by our divorce. I'm sorry she decided to confront me in the middle of a crowded park and especially that she did it in front of you as it should have been just between us, but that does not mean that it is in anyway your fault, because it's not, so stop feeling guilty. Even if I had never met you our marriage probably would've broken up at some point anyway just because I'm gone so much and a lot of spouses just can't put up with that just look at Rossi and how all three of his marriages busted up."

"I know you're right, but I can't help but feel guilty even though I know I didn't really have anything to do with it although I suppose my mere presence…"

"Don't go there," Hotch told his mate gently cutting Reid off. "No matter what Haley thinks or anybody else for that matter it wasn't your fault. You didn't even know about werewolves until seven weeks ago so how could you have known about mates or that you would be mine? Think logically like you normally do and don't let your emotions get in the way of the truth. Now why don't we go eat these hamburgers before they get cold as that would be a waste of perfectly good meat."

Spencer followed his mate to one of the picnic tables and started eating one of his hamburger in silence and refused to look at the people he knew were watching him and Aaron curious if there was going to be another argument. Unfortunately it was human nature for people to be curious and like to watch a good argument or fight as it was like watching a train wreck you just couldn't look away.

Hotch for his part glared at some of the people surrounding him and Spencer too closely and they immediately backed off knowing that Aaron Hotchner was no one to mess with when he was pissed off like he was now as none of them wanted to be the target of his anger.

Finally the picnic ended and Hotch and Reid were two of the first to leave as the gathering begin to break up as people started to head to their cars to head home.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Hotch and Reid arrived at the place that the pack was meeting and that that transformations was going to take place as tonight was a full moon. The place in question was a large parking lot that was empty except for the cars of pack members, but then again this town that they were in was exclusively pack territory.

"Remove your clothes," Hotch told Reid gently. "You don't want to rip them to shreds because if you leave them on while you transform that's exactly what will happen."

Reid did as ordered and blushed when he noticed several of the unattached wolves looking at his body, which had filled out quite a bit since his transformation, appreciatively. Hotch simply growled at the wolves in question and then glared at them making them look away quickly, since not many people could stand up to his death glare for very long. Basically Hotch's glare had said, 'Fuck off, he's mine.'

The Alpha came over and instructed Reid, "Concentrate on your wolf form, close your eyes if that helps. It should be natural to want to change as the moon should be calling to you."

Reid did as ordered and closed his eyes concentrating on thinking of himself as a wolf and gradually the change flowed over him until finally he was looking up at two tall men one of whom was his mate and the other the Alpha of the pack of Virginia. It had been easy, Reid realized silently. Really easy, although the fur had itched like crazy when it had been coming in, but Hotch had been right when he said that the change hadn't really hurt, although he hadn't mentioned how the fur would itch it as it took the place of his human skin.

"I would be honored if you would like to run with me, but will understand if you want to run with your mate," Greg offered.

"Thank you, but I've been waiting for this a long time," Hotch told Greg politely even while he was petting his mate's soft brown fur on his back, which Reid enjoyed leaning against his mate's leg. Reid's fur was the same color as his hair, which was a warm chestnut brown. "If you don't mind we're just going to run together."

Greg nodded not seeming upset and he suddenly started to change as well having already taken off his clothes.

Hotch, did the same and it was only seconds later that he was standing on four feet beside his mate in his wolf form, but while Hotch was a solid black, Reid was a dark chocolate brown.

Hotch started walking towards the trees that were at the edge of the parking lot Spencer following and soon the two of them disappeared into the forest.

"Come on Spencer, hunt with me!" Hotch seemed to say with his body language which Reid was an expert on even while his mate was in wolf form.

Spencer started to run deeper into the trees Hotch following, playfully nipping at his mate's heels and soon the two of them started to playfully chase each other as a Reid let his wolf instincts take over.

Suddenly Reid stopped as he smelled something so enticing that he started immediately salivating or at least the wolf in him did. What was that delicious scent?

"Go after it," Hotch's body language seemed to say. "I'll be right behind you."

Reid needed no further invitation and he started bounding through the forest tracking the scent letting his wolf instincts take over, without even thinking about it, since they would be a far better tracker than his human mind. It was only a few minutes later that he peered from behind a tree and saw a rabbit eating grass in an almost completely circular meadow. So many amazing scents hit him all at once that Reid knew that perfume manufacturers would pay a fortune to be able to duplicate the scents that were now hitting his nostrils. He couldn't see the colors for a wolf could only see in black and white, but the scents, oh the scents...

Letting his instincts take over he was upon the rabbit before it even knew he was there and he killed it effectively, trotting over put in his offer in at his mate's feet.

Hotch licked Spencer on the cheek in thanks and then the two of them sat down to enjoy the rabbit together and once their meal was over they both lay down and curled around each other in order to get some sleep to exhausted to do anything else as it had been a busy few days.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

"So did you enjoy your first transformation and hunt?" Hotch asked Spencer even though he already knew that his mate had, but he still wanted to hear it from Spencer's mouth.

"I did," Spencer said enthusiastically. "It was so…freeing," Reid said finally finding the word he was looking for. "I don't believe how much I enjoyed running through the forest with you playfully chasing me or how much I enjoyed chasing after that rabbit, killing it and then eating it raw. I would think doing such a thing would disgust me, but the wolf was delighted at catching it so easily, snapping it's neck and then bringing it to lay at your feet so you could share it with him. I felt like a real live predator and yes, I know that is what a wolf is, but I never thought I would enjoy the feeling of actually hunting something even if it was just a rabbit."

Hotch was pleased that Spencer had enjoyed it so much and he begin to imagine that he and his mate would hunt as often as they had time, hopefully at least a few times a month.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it so much, we'll have to do it again maybe even before the next full moon if we have time."

"I would like that," Spencer answered truthfully and enthusiastically. "I enjoyed it far more than I expected to."

"Why do you say that?" asked Hotch in surprise. "Of course the wolf in you enjoyed the hunt and you let it's instincts take over, which is what you're supposed to do when you're in that form since it is a far better hunter than your human form will ever be."

"Well, I expected to be repulsed after I returned to human form," Spencer explained softly, "so repulsed that I would never want to hunt again, but the strange thing is my human mind is not repulsed like I thought it would be and I am eager to do it again. If I had been born a werewolf like you were and had learned to hunt after I hit puberty, that would've been different because I would have been trained to like that kind of thing and would have thought it was the most natural thing in the world to kill that rabbit and eat it without cooking it first."

"Spencer, you might be gentle and tenderhearted most of the time, but you hunt all the time even if those animals are humans," Hotch reminded him. "Catching unsubs like we do is very much like hunting an animal in a forest except that we turn them over to the justice system and don't kill and eat them."

Spencer made a face at that and Hotch chuckled at his mate's expression.

"Aaron, that is totally gross and disgusting. I didn't need that kind of image in my head thank you very much," Reid protested looking grossed out. "Besides I do most of my work for the BAU behind the scenes I don't actually confront the unsub in question although it does occasionally happen."

"We will be doing this again now that I know you enjoy it so much," Hotch said with a grin. "I was thinking about buying a small house somewhere there is a large wooded area that we can run in even without the rest of the pack."

"There's no way you'll get the idea of living together past Strauss," Spencer pointed out.

"I don't see why not," Hotch said continuing to grin. "We'll just tell her that the doctor recommended that you not live alone and that we're roommates. You could even go to the doctor and I'm sure you could act well enough to get them to tell Strauss that they recommend that you not live alone if she checks into it."

"That will likely be possible," Reid admitted thinking about it. "I still do have nightmares from when I was kidnapped by Tobias Hankel less than a year ago or at least I did before you and I got together. I still remember the feeling of those nightmares and how I would wake up with sweat just pouring off me and how much trouble I had going back to sleep afterwards."

"I was so worried for you when you were kidnapped. Correction I was terrified out of my mind," Hotch confessed still remembering that terrible time where he had panicked, although he had managed to maintain his façade in front of the team. It had been excruciatingly hard he remembered and he hadn't gotten much sleep during that time. "I knew if you were killed and I had never told you how I felt that I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Some of the people we work around already called me Mr. Stoic or the Iceman, but I certainly didn't feel that way when you were missing and I was on the verge of complete panic."

"People actually call you Mr. Stoic or the Iceman?" Spencer asked laughing.

"They do," Hotch said with a smile of his own. "Not the team of course because they know me better, but some of the others that work in the same building as we do. I didn't at that point in time care what they called me and I still don't, but I know that if we didn't find you alive that I would go out of my way to get myself killed on a case because I couldn't live without at least having told you of my feelings. I was so happy when you were found alive, although I was really worried for your mental state for awhile."

"And you had a right to be," Spencer admitted looking as if he had been hit over the head with the information that Hotch had just given him. He'd had no idea that his mate had been that concerned when he'd been kidnapped by Tobias Hankel, almost a year ago now. "My mental state after being tortured by that unsub with three personalities in one body wasn't exactly very stellar."

"I know," Hotch admitted, "and I didn't know what I could really do about it without telling you my feelings, but at that time you were going through so much that I didn't think it was an appropriate time to do that not to mention my divorce from Haley wasn't final yet. I knew you were stronger mentally than you believed yourself to be and I was ecstatic when you managed to pull yourself out of it and get back to your old self—well mostly."

"Well I'm mostly past what happened to me now, although I am surprised I still don't have nightmares about it like I used to," Spencer said.

"It probably has to do with the fact that you have someone to sleep with now as sometimes just having a person to curl up against, to feel their body heat will make the nightmares stay away, especially if it's someone you feel absolutely safe with."

Spencer considered that then nodded as there had been research done on that very thing. "Maybe that's why I haven't had any nightmares about what happened ever since we started making love."

Spencer didn't mention the fact that he hadn't felt a craving for Dilaudid ever since his change into a werewolf and he figured that the transformation had cleansed him of that addiction for good to where he no longer felt the urge to inject the drug and he was glad because it had been so hard to resist the pull of the drug. Once a person was addicted whether it was by their own hand or not they either gave in or fought the urge for the rest of their life.

Hotch looked over at Spencer and noticed his rather pensive expression and immediately guessed the reason for it. He knew that Spencer didn't realize he knew about his former drug addiction, for even if he hadn't noticed that his mate was acting rather out of character he would have been able to smell it on him as it emanated from the pores of his very skin. Hotch hadn't known what to do and that was rather unusual for him. On one hand he knew he should report Reid's continued drug use, but on the other he wanted to give him a chance to get over the addiction with the help of his friends, simply because he had known that his mate hadn't started using on his own and that it had been Hankel who had been responsible for his addiction in the first place. Hotch had seriously wanted to rip Hankel to shreds for what he had done to his mate even though he knew that Tobias in his own way had been trying to help Reid, but he had resisted somehow.

"I know about the drug use," Hotch told Reid.

Reid jerked out of his mate's arms at that and turned to face the older man. "You do? I mean you did then? Why didn't you ever report me?"

"Shh! Calm down," Hotch soothed him taking his mate back into his arms. "Calm down and I will answer your questions as best I can."

Reid did as ordered and waited.

"Yes, I did know and so did Gideon, although the others on the team remain unaware unless you have told them."

"I haven't, I was too ashamed that I wasn't strong enough to fight the pull of the drug at that time," Reid whispered. "I know at least Prentiss suspected, but if she figured it out she has never said anything."

"As to why I never told Strauss, well she would have used it as an excuse to fire you, even though it wasn't really your fault, since it was Hankel that got you addicted in the first place. You could have fought her decision of course, but if you had word would have gotten around until the whole Bureau knew and I didn't want that. I know you have a tough enough time putting up with some of the older agents who see you as nothing but a kid who doesn't belong in the FBI and I didn't want to make things worse for you. If you had actually majorly messed up while on a case I would have had to report that, but luckily you managed to beat your addiction before that happened. As for how I knew...well not only were you acting out of character for you and by then I knew everything about how you behaved on a normal basis, but I could smell it on you."

"You could smell it?" asked Reid in amazement having known that a werewolf's nose was sensitive, but not that sensitive.

"Yes, that kind of thing tends to come out your pores when you sweat even if a werewolf's nose is the only thing sensitive enough to pick it up. I smelled you start to turn into a werewolf as my blood raced through your body."

"Did you know that the transformation would cleanse me? I no longer have to fight against the seductive pull as I've been doing for the last few months," said Reid internally grateful that Aaron had known about his addiction but hadn't reported him for it although he should have and also that the man didn't hold it against him that he hadn't been able to stop after becoming addicted to Dilaudid.

"I didn't, but I suspected that would happen because when you transform into a werewolf anything that's part of your blood like a drug addiction is cleansed away by the transformation."

"Well, I'm grateful that it did, because now I know longer feel that seductive pull and hopefully I'll never be injected with such an addictive drug again by somebody like Hankel," Spencer said looking relieved and grateful.

"I can't promise you it'll never happen again, but I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't," Hotch promised sound extremely protective. "I can promise you this though that if it does happen again I will be with you every step of the way and I'll kill whoever addicted you to a dangerous drug again."

"Hotch, you can't just kill anyone that hurts me," Reid protested, although he was still touched by the protectiveness in his mate's voice.

"Believe me I wanted to kill Hankel with my bare hands and it took every ounce of willpower I had not to snap his neck for what he did to you," Hotch growled looking furious and as tense as a coiled spring.

"Well, Hankel finally got what was coming to him," Reid said calmly placing a hand on his mate's arm. "And Aaron, while I appreciate it, don't risk you're life for me and possibly end up in prison just because you went and got vengeance. Things happen with this job and I know you blame yourself for sending me and JJ to Hankel's home but how were we to know that he was our unsub? It's really nobodies fault, not mine, not JJ's and definitely not yours. I was the one that suggested JJ and I separate and maybe if we hadn't it wouldn't have happened, but again how were we supposed to know that he would be dangerous? Besides if you got yourself sent to prison where would that leave me?"

"You're right," Hotch admitted calming down. "I wouldn't want to leave you for anything, especially by doing something so stupid. You know I usually have better control over my emotions, but when it comes to you…"

"I feel the same," Reid told him, "and you know me I'm not usually the aggressive type at all, but I would have no hesitation at shooting an unsub even if it killed them just to protect you or even changing into my wolf shape and ripping their throat out and I know I wouldn't feel the least bit guilty afterwards even if I know I should."

"That's not really surprising, because now that you're werewolf as I told you our species is very protective of their mates and their pups and we will do nearly anything to protect them from danger."

"Why don't we head to the bedroom as we do have better things to do, don't you think?" Reid suggested never having been so eager to have sex until after he and Aaron had met,

"Definitely," Hotch agreed immediately sounding eager, getting up first and puling his mate to his feet before the both of them headed to the bedroom to make wild passionate love.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

"So enjoy your time off?" Rossi smirked at his old friend and the young man he had come to consider a son.

He had been happy when his old friend and the younger man had gotten together because he had thought ever since he had come back to the BAU that Aaron had a thing for the young doctor and that Reid had a thing for his boss. Both men were good at concealing their feelings, and denying what they felt for each other and so Rossi had said nothing and just sat back and waited knowing that they would give into their feelings eventually, although if it hadn't happened in a reasonable amount of time then he knew he would have tried to play matchmaker but luckily he hadn't had to, because both men were extremely stubborn and would have dug in their heels had he tried to get them together before the two of them were ready to admit their feelings for each other.

Of course Rossi was unaware of the whole werewolf/mate thing and had no idea that his old friend had just been waiting for the divorce from Haley to be final before he made a move nor was it something that his old friend needed to know.

"I did," Reid chirped looking happy and content while Hotch just smiled and nodded also looking incredibly happy although he said nothing just kissing the top of Spencer head from where he was sitting beside him on the plane.

The whole team, were on their way to yet another city to help another community catch a killer who was killing gay men.

"It was good to get away for awhile, to do not have to think about the job, to be able to relax," Hotch said and the rest of the team nodded in agreement.

"You relaxing," Derek teased Hotch, "now there is a concept. You and pretty boy are well matched in that way as you are both workaholics."

"I do know how to relax, Morgan," Hotch told the other man with a smile.

"Since when?" asked Prentiss with a little laugh.

"Since always," Hotch told her with a smile. "I just haven't had a reason to until now."

"Aaron has always been the very serious type, and won't put off a lot of things that most people would, like the endless paperwork," Rossi said, "but he does know how to have fun if he has the right person to help him loosen up."

"You haven't said much, Spence," JJ questioned.

"Why should I comment when Hotch is perfectly capable of defending himself," Reid said with a raised eyebrow a little smile playing on his lips. "Besides Morgan is perfectly well aware of my views on the subject of his interference in my personal life."

"Don't I know it," Morgan said actually blushing in embarrassment as he thought about the confrontation that he had caused when he had learned about the involvement between Hotch and the man he considered a brother. He had thought that his boss had taken advantage of the younger man, but Reid had made it perfectly clear that it had been a mutual decision and that he'd had feelings for Hotch for sometime before they had gotten together not that he ever would have said anything if Hotch hadn't approached him.

Morgan still remembered Spencer's words perfectly as his friend had told him in a calm, but cold voice that who he got involved with was none of his business and that he was a grown man and that it had been his decision. Reid had also said that 'I am not the innocent you believe me to be and just because I don't brag about my conquests does not mean I'm a virgin.'"

Morgan remembered actually blushing at his friend's words because Reid had him pegged for he had thought of his friend as somebody who was still a virgin, although he should have known better. He supposed that he just thought of Reid as an innocent because he seemed that way, although he realized that was all a matter of perception because when Reid had first joined the team he had been only 23 and still very immature in certain ways and definitely innocent when it came to dating. He had also been totally shocked that either Reid or Hotch swung that way, but had had to accept it when his best friend had stood up to him and told him that he was a man with needs, just like any other man and that Hotch had never forced him into anything. Reid had gone on the say that he as the brother he'd never had could either support his and Hotch's relationship or he was not as good a friend as he had always thought he was. Morgan had had to give in after that and accept that Reid was a grown man and able to make his own decisions.

And Morgan had to admit that he had been wrong for Reid was more happy and relaxed then he had ever seen him except on a few rare occasions and Hotch also seemed more relaxed then he had used to be and also wasn't half as uptight, but then who would be when they were having sex on a regular basis?

"Do we want to know what you did with your week off?" asked Emily with a secret smile already guessing that the two of them had spent a great deal of it in bed fucking each other senseless as she certainly would if she had had someone to love and a load of free time, especially if it was a new relationship.

"Oh nothing much really," Hotch said with a smile of his own. "We ate out some, we spent some time with Jack..."

"And puttered around the apartment not doing much of anything, which was a nice change," Spencer said, "I about read us out of house and home though."

"I thought you hated time off, pretty boy," Morgan teased causing Reid to blush.

"That was true in the past, if only because I'm not much for social gatherings and I spent most of my free time by myself, but now that Hotch and I are together it's different."

"I just bet it is," Emily said with a grin causing Reid to blush again because he knew very well what Emily was implying. Emily was implying that he and Hotch had spent a great deal of time in bed and they had as whole days had passed with them only getting up long enough to eat, use the toilet and shower and other then those few necessaries they had not gotten out of bed for days, although they had spent the weekend meeting the pack Alpha and going to that gathering in the park and then spending the full moon running in the forest, but other than that they hadn't done much at all. Reid never thought that he would enjoy running so much or love having Hotch chasing him playfully. Killing that rabbit and enjoying it had been the biggest shock for him, since he was usually such a gentle person and he'd never thought he would enjoy eating something like that raw much less the killing of it, but the wolf in him had suddenly changed his mind about that and he was looking forward to the next hunt with his mate.

"I have no idea what you are implying, Agent Prentiss," Reid told her with a straight face.

"Sure you don't," Rossi who hadn't said much after his initial question commented with laughter in his voice.

"Alright, everyone, enough!" Hotch finally barked playfully and everyone fell silent. "I think you all have teased Reid enough for one day."

"Ahh, Hotch how can you say that? Teasing Reid is so much fun," Morgan said and Reid playfully glared it him.

"Yes, while I'm sure that's true, we need to concentrate on this case," Hotch said.

"Well, since this is a case where gay men are being killed maybe you two would be the perfect bate," Rossi suggested. "You know normally I wouldn't suggest such a plan, but the two of you can handle yourselves a lot better than a couple of civilians or cops just playing the part. We would have to make it look realistic as from all we know of this unsub he seems very intelligent and he would probably be able to tell if somebody was faking being gay or at least bisexual."

"We'll see how the case goes," Hotch decided, "although it certainly a viable option if we need to do something like that to catch this guy."

Hotch was comforted by the fact that if it came to that and Reid was put in danger he would be a lot harder to injure seriously and definitely harder to kill.

The team continued to discuss the case before they all relaxed and did their own thing until they landed.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

The team walked into the police station in Oklahoma city, which was the largest city in the state and also the capital of Oklahoma, to find the captain waiting for for them. Hotch knew that the captain of this police department was a werewolf from the moment the other man's scent hit his nose and from the look on mate's face he knew him as well.

"Captain Chandler, I'm Jennifer Jareau, but you can call me JJ. Now let me introduce you to the team," JJ said to the man politely shaking his hand. "These are SSAs, David Rossi, Derek Morgan, Emily Prentiss, this is our unit chief Aaron Hotchner and this is Dr. Spencer Reid."

"It's nice to meet you all," Captain Chandler said and the minute he looked at Hotch and Reid they both bared their necks in respect for his position when they were sure nobody else was paying attention to them. "I'm glad you could come and help us as we are at a loss as to who is killing all these same-sex couples."

"Well, hopefully we'll be able to help you figure out and catch this unsub," Morgan piped up.

"We set up the conference room for you, just as you requested," Chandler said pointing in the direction. "If I could have a word with you Agent Hotchner."

"Of course," Hotch agreed calmly.

"Thank you, we appreciate it," Reid said with a small smile at the captain.

"Reid, you get started on a geographical profile," Hotch ordered, "Morgan and Rossi you two head to the morgue, JJ, Prentiss you talk to the victims families."

The team all acknowledged their orders and headed off to do as they had been told.

Reid glanced back just in time to see his mate heading into the captain's office and the door closing behind them.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

"Now I'm sure you know why I wanted to talk to you privately," Captain Chandler said.

"Yes, sir," Hotch said politely. "You were surprised that there was one werewolf on the team much less two."

"It does seem rather coincidental," Captain Chandler said.

"I know how it seems, captain," Hotch said sitting down in one of the chairs in front of the captain's desk he the older man indicated for him too.

"So what's the story? To find one werewolf much less two on a team of seven, well the odds are astronomical," Chandler said calmly.

"I'm sure Reid could give you the exact statistics," Hotch chuckled but then turned serious. "I was born a werewolf," he began to explain calmly, "and I had been on the team for several years before Jason Gideon introduced me to Spencer Reid who was just 23 at the time. Gideon knew that Reid would fit right in with the team no matter how young he was because he's absolutely brilliant. At the time that Reid joined the team up until about two months ago he was human."

"So what happened?" asked Chandler in surprise.

"Well, the minute I met him I knew that he was my mate, the only problem was that I was married to someone who had been part of the pack I grew up in. I thought I was in love, and I'm not even sure I believed in mates back then and as you can probably tell I didn't grow up in a very happy home."

Chandler nodded as that happened sometimes. In a lot of ways werewolves were just like humans and a lot of human families would rather their children marry a somebody from a good family and not for love.

"I genuinely thought I loved Haley, but when I met Spencer that all changed. Haley was pregnant at that time with our son and so I waited as I didn't want her to have a miscarriage. Besides I had to build up trust between Spencer and I before I even dared approach him about the whole werewolf/mate thing, because he doesn't trust easily and it takes awhile for him to trust somebody completely. He never would have accepted what I said unless he trusted me and since I didn't want him leave in the BAU because he thought I was crazy or whatever it was just better to wait even if it was hard."

"So how long did it take you to tell him of your feelings?" asked Chandler.

"Three years, a very hard, long three years," Hotch said making a face, "and as I said a minute ago it's only been within the last two months that we've gotten together."

"So was he seriously injured and that's why you turned him into a werewolf?" asked Chandler.

"No, he agreed to become one on his own free will and he wasn't at the time injured. What we do can be dangerous and he tends to be a trouble magnet so this has eased my mind somewhat as even if he was shot he would heal immediately."

"So how long since you changed him?" asked Chandler.

"Only about a week," Hotch said. "I had to do it while we had the whole week off after a particularly tough case so that he could get used to the changes that his body had undergone as I didn't need the rest of the team suspicious if he started acting out of what was normal for him and Morgan in particular has a very suspicious nature and thinks of Reid like the little brother he never had. I had already informed Reid what to expect and he accepted drinking some of my blood much easier then I really thought he would. I believe he considered it no different than getting blood through a IV in the hospital."

"Already? Isn't that a little soon for him to be going back to work? It takes most people at least a month to get used to all the changes their bodies have undergone and to learn to control themselves," asked Chandler.

"I never would have agreed to let him come back to work if I didn't believe he was ready," Hotch said calmly. "As I said earlier, Reid is a genius and his mind works much more rapidly and differently than most peoples do. He has an eidetic memory, an IQ of 187 and can read 20,000 words a minute, he absorbs information at a speed that you and I as well as most of other people can only dream about as I've never heard anyone else read as fast as he does. Once I had transformed in front of him to prove what I had told him was true, I started teaching him all about the changes his body would undergo and once he was changed I worked with him to make sure he could control his new instincts and he's already been though his first full moon. The only time he might have a problem is if somebody argues or tries to attack me, since we both know that us wolves are very protective of our mates and new werewolves even moreso. I have warned him about it, but we won't know if he will be able to control it until it happens at least until he's a few years older."

"Well, you know him best," Chandler said grudgingly.

"I do, trust me I spent the last three years learning everything I could about my mate even if I had to do it just by observation since I could let him know about that until recently. Reid is a professional and won't let the changes he has undergone get in the way of doing his job and neither will I," Hotch said. "The team knows about us by the way, oh not that we are werewolves just that we're a couple. Really there was no way we could keep it from them because they would've figured it out eventually and it was just better to go ahead and tell them because Morgan in particular is very protective of Reid. When we did tell them Morgan was all ready to strangle me with his bare hands thinking I had taken advantage of him and it was only Reid saying that it was something that we both wanted that calmed him down and he has since accepted it. All of us do tend to think of him as an innocent, at least when it comes to dating and sex," Hotch said not bothering to coach his words or find a more polite phrase, "but I have since learned that he had been on some dates, before we got together he just didn't brag about it like Morgan does about his conquests."

"So do you think I'll killer is a werewolf?" asked Chandler looking a little worried. "Oklahoma does have quite a large werewolf population some of whom are gay couples."

"It's hard to tell at this time," Hotch admitted honestly considering it. "We don't really have enough information at this time to determine who's doing it, although the kills could be werewolf kills considering how brutally the bodies were mutilated, but then again maybe not as it could be just a particularly vicious human."

"If it is a werewolf..." Chandler began.

"Reid and I are going to have to figure out a way to keep it from the team and kill him without it looking suspicious," Hotch said, "and trust me if that is necessary it isn't going to be easy. I would have told them about werewolves long ago if I wasn't under orders, because I trust every single one of them, but orders are orders."

"That our species exist must remain a secret," Chandler said and Hotch nodded in agreement.

"I know, but I know that my team would be able to handle the news and would keep the secret because I've worked with all of them for years and I trust them implicitly. We all keep secrets for the sake of national security and if they can keep that kind of thing secret then they could keep secret of werewolves as well."

The two men continued to talk for few minutes before Hotch got up to leave thanking Chandler before heading out the door closing it gently behind him.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

"This case is so frustrating," Morgan sighed.

Despite the team's best affect they still hadn't managed to get any closer to catching the unsub, that they all knew was out there as there had been several more gay couples killed in the last two weeks.

"We've had frustrating cases in the past," Rossi said and the others nodded in agreement.

"There's just something about this guy that really pisses me off," Morgan said.

"He's pissing all of us off, Morgan not just you," Emily told her friend, "but we've caught people like this guy before and we can do it again as he is bound to mess up eventually."

"Why don't we go get some lunch since I know it's harder to concentrate on an empty stomach," Hotch suggested.

"That's a great idea, Hotch," Morgan said as his stomach growled at if on cue at the thought of food, causing everyone to laugh. They had been working tossing around ideas and time to come up with the one vital clue that would lead them to this guy

Everybody started gathering their stuff together and it wasn't long before the seven of them trooped out of the police station to go get themselves some fresh air and lunch before they got back to work.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

Several days later their unsub was dead, but not before he had gotten the drop on Morgan and torn his throat out for their unsub had indeed been a werewolf, but one that like all serial killers, was evil and completely twisted and in this case a complete psychopath. The only reason that Captain Chandler hadn't known about Ralph Kirkland was because he had never officially been part of the pack of Oklahoma as he had just been traveling for the last few years killing as he went and it hadn't been until this recent string of murders that anybody had noticed because he had started devolving and instead of burying his kills he had started leaving them for people to find having figured he was to smart to be caught.

As for Morgan the only way to save his life as his throat had been torn out and the ambulance was to far away had been to turn him into a werewolf, by dripping blood into the wound in his throat, which Hotch had done until it had started to heal.

Fortunately or unfortunately depending on your point of view the whole team had been there and had feared they had lost Morgan and there was no way to change the fact that werewolves were real now since all of them had seen what had happened. The whole team from Rossi to JJ to Prentiss had demanded an explanation as to what the hell was going on, but Hotch managed to calm them down by telling them that it would have to wait until they had some privacy.

"Will Morgan be okay?" asked Prentiss looking worried and concerned when Morgan failed to regain conscious after Hotch had ripped into his wrist in order to drip blood onto Morgan's wound, having to do this several times since his wound kept healing in just a few seconds. Finally though the wound in Morgan's throat had healed until their was nothing left but smooth, undamaged skin

"He'll be fine and we'll discuss this back at Quantico so that Garcia can join us too," Hotch said, his tone brooking no argument. "Well need to wait for Morgan to wake up anyway as its not fair to discuss this behind his back."

"He'll wake up then?" asked JJ just as concerned since Morgan was her friend.

"He will, but it will probably be tomorrow morning," Hotch said.

"Reid you haven't said much," Rossi commented. "What do you know about this?"

"I thought Hotch was handling it quite well and didn't see any reason to put my foot in," Reid said, refusing to answer the questions that the rest of the team were throwing his way.

"This is not the place for this discussion," Hotch barked. "Please just have a little patience and all your questions will be answered, I promise."

The other's fell silent as Hotch looked almost at his wit's end. Slowly they all realized that Hotch was extremely stressed, more so then was normal and what proved this was Reid, who usually acted very professional unless either he and Hotch were alone or they were not working like at lunch or dinner with the team and even then they're were no overt displays of affection as both men were very private people. What they did in the comfort in their own home was different from doing it in public, but now Reid was standing as close to Hotch as he could get, soothing him with his mere presence and the rest of the team noticed how their unit chief relaxed by degrees as Reid brushed his hand over Aaron's establishing skin to skin contact.

"You will be explaining this when we get home," Rossi demanded. "Since you said you need privacy I'm inviting everybody to my place for food after we get home, including Garcia."

"Do I need to call an ambulance?" asked JJ who already had her cell phone in her hand.

"No," Hotch said his voice tired, "Morgan will be fine that I promise you. It'll be hours before he wakes up, but when he does he'll be perfectly healthy."

"Well… If you're sure…" JJ said look unsure.

"Trust me I would never put Morgan's life in danger if I wasn't sure he was going to be okay," Hotch told everyone who nodded. "All we need to do is take him back to his hotel room and let him sleep it off, although someone needs to stay with him for when he wakes up preferably either Reid or me."

"Why you two and no one else?" Emily demanded.

"Because someone will need to explain to him exactly what happened," Hotch explained calmly. "He'll remember having his throat torn open and since he'll wake up perfectly healthy, well he's going to have a lot of questions."

"You sure are being very vague, Aaron," Rossi said glaring at is old friend.

"I'm afraid that's the way we have it have to be until we get home," Hotch told his old friend sympathetically. "I'm not going to go through the explanation more than once so Garcia also needs to be there for it."

Rossi finally fell silent after that, although from his thoughtful expression Hotch knew that he was probably working on a theory as to what he actually was and who knew it might even be close to the right one since his old mentor was a very intelligent man. It was a good thing though that the team trusted him or they never would've given in so easily about demanding an explanation, but thanks to that trust they were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until they knew they shouldn't.

Nobody noticed when Reid disappeared in order to call Captain Chandler and tell him what had happened except he left the rest of the team out of it and just made it seem that Morgan, Hotch and him had confronted the unsub while the others searched the rest of the building and so hadn't been there for the confrontation as nobody else needed to know that the team had seen the unsub change and luckily for him he had changed back to human form before he had died.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

"So?" Emily demanded as soon as the whole team had gathered at Rossi's and eaten a meal that he had prepared. It was just after they had gotten home from their last case as the others on the team had not been prepared to wait any longer for an explanation of what they had seen and neither Spencer or Hotch could blame them for that. They were now sitting in the living room and all the team, except for Morgan, and Reid were waiting for Hotch to explain to them what they had all seen. Morgan had only been told the basics about what had happened and he'd had trouble accepting what he was told, but he did remember a wolf leaping at him and tearing out his throat. He had been bleeding very badly and never would have made it to the hospital and even if he had there was only a slim chance that the doctors would be able to save his life. Garcia had been very emotional when she had heard how close Morgan had come to death, but now she was wondering how Hotch had saved his life just like the others except Reid and Morgan were, but was still very grateful for it.

"Fine, I'm going to be blunt and what I'm about to tell you is going to be hard to believe..." Hotch began.

"Not as hard as you think simply because we saw how your blood helped save Morgan's life," JJ said surveying her friend as well as her boss her expression unreadable.

"What are you talking about?" Garcia asked not having heard this before burrowing into Morgan's chest needing the comfort to realize that the man she loved was still with her. Morgan for his part seemed to be inhaling Garcia's scent, even as his arms came up around her body and had the strangest expression on his face which Hotch and Reid immediately noticed sharing glances knowing exactly what was happening

"I think I know what you are," Rossi said.

Hotch raised an eyebrow, which told the older man to go ahead and tell them what he was thinking and he would confirm whether or not he was on the right track.

"Werewolf?" asked Rossi staring at his old friend intently.

The rest of the team except for Morgan and Reid looked shocked at this and Hotch simply nodded.

"Werewolves aren't real," JJ protested looking totally shocked.

"How is do you explain Morgan's instant healing when Hotch used his blood to heal the wound in Morgan's throat?" asked Rossi. "Not to mention the way he tore into his wrist and it healed within just a few seconds, which is why he had to do it several times in order to drip blood into the wound. There is no other species I know what that heal that fast either fictional or real except maybe vampires and since vampires don't eat food or have children that can't be it since we've seen Aaron eating and he does have a son."

JJ had to admit that Rossi had a point, but it was still hard for her to believe so she looked over at Hotch.

"Yes, werewolves are real and yes I am one," Hotch said quietly looking just a little nervous, but still mostly relaxed. "We keep ourselves secret, because if we didn't our species would be hunted to extinction and no we are nothing like the books or movies portray," he added intercepting what he knew what Garcia's question would be as soon as she opened her mouth. "I was born a werewolf, so was my brother, my father, my grandfather before him and my great-grandfather before that."

"Why did you never tell us?" asked Morgan having been silent up until now. "We would have had your back regardless."

"I was under orders," Hotch explained looking unhappy. "I would've told you all a long time ago, but the pack Alpha of the Virginia area said that it was a secret that must remain so and trust me you don't disobey the pack Alpha's command. I would never have told you if our latest killer hadn't been a werewolf gone rogue and started killing gay couples."

"So you live in packs?" asked Emily with a raised eyebrow.

"Some of our kind live together like a pack in a small town that is exclusively a pack town," Hotch admitted. "As for the rest of us like me I only go up to where the pack has their home sometimes to run for the full moon taking Spencer with me when I go."

"Why, Reid's not a werewolf," JJ said.

"Actually I am," Reid answered before Hotch could causing the others to gap at him in surprise. "Aaron, I think it's time we told them."

Hotch and Reid looked at each other intently for a few moment's and a message seemed to pass between them finally Hotch nodded knowing he couldn't keep it from his teammates and if truth be known he would have told them about mates the minute the two of them had gotten together if it hadn't been for Greg's orders.

"Tell us what?" asked Garcia speaking for the first time.

"Aaron and I," Reid explained calmly, "are mates."

"What does that mean?" asked JJ her gaze shifting between Hotch and Reid.

"Well, it goes back to why werewolves exist in the first place," Hotch begin to explain, "in a lot of ways our species are like our true wolf counterpart except we are also human. Long ago back when our species was first created..."

Hotch went on to tell them about how some humans had begged the gods to help them know who their mates were as several of their community had killed themselves when they found the woman they loved was cheating on them.

"So the gods came to decision and told us that the men would be human most of the time and wolves whenever we wanted to be, but the full moon would have a pull on us but we didn't necessarily have to change, although we would have to change at least a few times every year in order to keep our sanity. Unlike in the books of movies where werewolves are savage monsters we can change whatever we feel like it all it's usually just on the full moon to run with the pack. In changing us into what we are today they also gave us the ability to know when we had found our mates. A wolf only has one True Mate, although many marry without ever finding theirs like I did. The way a wolf knows if somebody is their mate is by sense their sense of smell as their mate smells absolutely irresistible to them. The minute Spencer walked into the BAU three years ago I knew, but I didn't tell him until very recently as I was still married to Haley and had a child on the way."

"So you and Haley divorced?" asked Emily in surprise.

"Well, there was really no other choice," Hotch admitted. "Once a werewolf finds their mate, the one that is meant for them, whether or not they ever tell them if they are married at the time they start distancing themselves from their spouse whether or not they mean to. A wolf only has one mate, but back before Spencer came to the BAU I'm not even sure I believed in mates as my parents well... let's just say they approved of Haley because she grew up within the pack and would make a good pack wife. My father never found his mate, which explains some of the bitter undertones to my parents marriage when my brother and I were growing up. My father always told Sean and I that it was better to marry a girl from a good family whether or not she was your mate and not to worry about finding the one that was meant for you. If he ever truly found his mate he never said anything to me and I doubt he would've said anything to my mother or Sean, to anybody else."

"So basically your mate is everything?" Rossi commented and Hotch nodded.

"Basically," Hotch said. "As much as I wanted Spencer when he first came to the BAU I had to build up the trust between us not to mention I was still married to Haley at that time while I didn't love her like I used to after I met Spencer I never would have cheated on her."

"Do you think that story you told us is true?" asked Garcia curiously.

"I really don't know," Hotch admitted with a shrug. "I just know that it's been passed down by word of mouth in my family for generations and all old tales have at least a grain of truth to them."

"So you changed pretty boy here into a werewolf?" asked Morgan not seeming upset, but then he had a better understanding about werewolves then the rest of the team did since a lot had been explained to him after he had woken up and he had had more time to absorb the information he had been given.

"At my request," Reid said. "Aaron would've been happy to leave me human, but he said I would be safer as a werewolf as I do tend to be a trouble magnet."

"Safer?" JJ asked in surprise. "What do you mean by safer."

"Well think about it, werewolves are a lot harder to kill then humans," Reid explained. "We heal most wounds almost instantly, including broken bones, although those tend to take a few hours. We can be killed of course, it's just a lot harder. I hope all of you can accept us for who we are as we're still the same two men you knew you just know something else about us now."

"Of course we do," Garcia cried, "how could you think that we would abandon you just because we learned something that we didn't expect? You saved Morgan's life and for that alone I would always be thankful to you, but you are also my family and I don't abandon the people I love just because they turn out to have this big secret."

"I have to agree," Rossi said. "Sure we didn't expect you two to be werewolves, and you could have kept your secret and let Morgan die, but you didn't and for that alone I would respect you, but I've also known you for many years Aaron and I really didn't learn anything that would make me abandon my friendship with you as you are still the same man I've known for more than 20 years."

"We've been friends for how long, Spence? Three years? I'm not going to turn my back on you now or Hotch either," JJ said.

"I'm here for you, both of you," Emily said. "You are my friends, my family really. I'm not going anywhere."

Hotch relaxed and so did Reid everybody noticed and the tense atmosphere dissipated.

"Is that why you have bulked up and have started to eat so much more then you used to?" asked Morgan suddenly looking at Reid. "I didn't notice at first but you have more muscles in your arms and legs like you've been working out and I noticed that before I was changed but I just thought you had taken up running or some other exercise to gain muscles like that."

"Yes, the transformation is what added the muscles to his arms and legs and also why he eats more as he now craves more substance. When I gave him some of my blood in order to do the transformation, it would have erased any signs of the neglect that he got doing his childhood. When somebody's changed into a werewolf the blood that is required to do that erases any impurities in the blood. Reid never learned how to eat a proper meal when he was a child simply because his mother was so sick she rarely cooked and his father left when he was eight. He was the one that had to assume responsibility of caring for his mother."

"And unfortunately I've never been much of a cook, so we survived on things like cereal or other things that could be done in the microwave," Reid said with a shrug. "I didn't have time to learn how to cook anyway because I had school and homework and looking after my mother was a full-time job with nobody there to help me."

"You didn't ask for help," Emily said and Reid took his head.

"I knew the statistics for getting into a decent foster home and how much abuse went on in such places even at eight years old. Besides who would've looked after mom if I hadn't been there? She could barely get out of bed on some days and I'm the one that had to force-feed her on a few occasions because she refused to eat. I constantly worried about her when I went off to college, so I called her as often as I could to make sure she was looking after herself."

"Back to the subject at hand," Morgan said.

"So, you said that you're nothing like the books and movies," Garcia said in her usual perky tone. "How are you different then they portray?"

"Well, as I've already said we can change anytime we want, and not just on the full moon," Hotch explained. "Another thing is that we keep our minds when we change and we don't change into ravaging beasts that just want to bite somebody and turn them into a werewolf. Besides that you've already seen it takes more than a bite to change a human into a werewolf, it takes a wolf's blood in order to do the transformation like that. Also unlike in the books or movies it doesn't hurt to change and it's just smooth and natural."

"What about Jack?" asked JJ suddenly thinking of Hotch's son. "Is he a werewolf to?"

"He is," Hotch said, "but we don't change for the first time until puberty so right now he's just a normal, energetic little boy."

"So you mentioned in your story earlier about how only the men could become werewolves," Emily said and Hotch nodded.

"I'm afraid that's still true," Hotch said. "Even though Haley grew up within the pack and her father is a werewolf neither her or her sister are. It seems to be some kind of X linked trait that means only the men can inherit the ability and it's always been that way."

"Well, that sucks!" Garcia whined and Hotch and Reid chuckled.

"It does," Reid said with a grin, "but that's just the way it is."

"Reid had a theory a few days ago about why the women couldn't change like the men could."

"What's your theory?" asked JJ curiously and Emily also looked interested.

"Well, I was just thinking that the reason a women can't turn into a werewolf is the fact that she has the ability to have children and even that you don't have to transform on the full moon there is a pull to do so and if a woman is pregnant, well, I can't see the fetus surviving if she changes, especially in the first couple of months. Now pregnancy normally lasts for nine months and Hotch told me that, although the men don't have to change on the full moon they do need to change every two or three months in order to stay sane because the moon always calls to us. I believe that either a woman would give in and change on the full moon before the baby was born, or would stay human and maybe be driven insane because you can only resist the pull of the moon for so long."

"I told him that it was as good a theory is any as it certainly is very logical and makes sense," Hotch said with a shrug. "Nobody really knows why the women of the pack can't change and we certainly aren't eager to submit ourselves for medical testing."

"I can certainly understand that," JJ said. "You would end up as lab being experimented on, well either that or dead as we are all well aware how ruthless the government can be."

"And us werewolves are a very small group," Hotch said. "There's really not more than a few thousand of us all over the world and we would be hunted to extinction in a very short space of time by people who would be frightened of us, especially on the full moon. We are all aware of human nature and a lot of people wouldn't even try to understand that we are not like what is portrayed in the books or the movies before hunting us down. Besides there would also be a lot innocent human deaths as people panicked thinking their neighbors were werewolves. It would be a massacre and a blood bath."

"I can certainly understand why you didn't want to talk about this before we had some privacy," Rossi said slowly. "You certainly want anyone you didn't trust to overhear your conversation, because I agree that there would be a lot of unnecessary deaths if the general populace found out."

"That is why none of you must tell anyone. I wouldn't have told you now if I hadn't been put into a situation where it was unavoidable. I couldn't just let Morgan die and I could tell that there was no way that he would have survived until an ambulance arrived much less reached the hospital."

"Morgan why do your eyes keep changing?" asked Emily who had noticed that Morgan's eyes kept changing is shape although not in color as werewolves often had brown eyes and the same appeared true of werewolves.

"That's quite common for a new werewolf," Hotch explained watching the white of Morgan's cornea almost disappeared as his eyes changed to that of the wolf. "When a new werewolf is first created the hardest part to control is the eyes changing from human to wolf. Our eyes tend to respond to our emotions, whether we are angry, happy or any other strong emotion. When I first met Reid for example I had a hell of a time maintaining my normal human eyes as they wanted to change and my fangs wanted to drop. As you can imagine I hadn't lost control like that in years, but the first time I met Reid well..."

"I have learned since Aaron changed me that wanting to mate with the one that is meant for you is instinctual for our race. I honestly don't know how he resisted for so long, considering ever since I was changed…"

"We don't need details," Rossi told Reid hastily causing the younger man to grin.

"I wasn't going to give you any," Reid assured him with a small smirk.

"In any case," Hotch said with a grin of his own his arm around his mate's waist and Reid's head on his shoulder, "Morgan is going to have to really concentrate to get his eyes to quit changing like that, although I have to admit it's not as noticeable with somebody who already has brown eyes because wolves also have brown eyes, but for somebody who has blue eyes…"

"It will be more noticeable simply because no blue eyed wolves are found in nature," Spencer went on to explain. "The pups start out with blue eyes when they're born true, but by the time they are 6 to 10 weeks old they change either to brown, amber, gray, green or gold. If you see a dog that looks like a wolf that has blue eyes is it either a husky or some type of highbred and the same is true of werewolves."

"Wolves are also color blind and so when that happens we need to concentrate on something that has a very strong color like the red tie I normally wear as that is enough to change a werewolf's eyes back to normal."

"Why do my eyes keep changing though?" asked Morgan confused. "I'm not experiencing any strong emotions at the moment that should cause the effect."

Reid and Hotch exchanged knowing looks and Hotch said, "Tell me something Morgan don't you remember what I said a few minutes ago about having trouble controlling my eyesight when I first met Reid?"

"Yeah? What is that have to do with anything?" asked Morgan not getting what Hotch was trying to tell him. Rossi immediately caught on to what his old friend was implying much faster than anybody else's as his mind just put the clues together until they fit the facts he and the others had been given.

Reid rolled his eyes at his friend and told him, "For such a smart man you're acting incredibly dense."

The others on the team, except Rossi wondered what Hotch and Reid meant, but finally Hotch explained, "Remember when mentioned about how I discovered Spencer was my mate?"

"You said, that werewolves tell by the smell," Morgan said slowly putting the clues together, "and that the way their mate smelled was absolutely irresistible to them..."

"You haven't let go of Garcia, ever since we sat down in here and even while we were eating dinner you two sat so close together I'm surprised she wasn't on your lap. Yes, I realize that Garcia came close to losing you and that she would want to be close by until she had gotten over the scare she had just had, but..." Hotch began to explain.

"You're saying that Morgan and I are mates like you and Reid?" asked Garcia who had been mostly silent up until now, just enjoying cuddling into the arms of her big black thunder god, whom she deeply loved.

"The reason Morgan's eyes keep changing is he's struggling to control himself around you and for a new werewolf he's doing a pretty good job, but that's why his eyes keep wanting to change to those of the wolf as mine did the same the second I smelled Spencer's scent, before Gideon actually brought him into my office to meet me. It's a good thing that I had a chance to get myself under control before Gideon actually brought you in to meet me or there might've been trouble or at least questions."

"You've got to be kidding, Hotch," Morgan said not sure if he believed it although his Penelope scent was driving him crazy as she smelled like sunshine, springtime and a word he would never admit out loud and that was sex. He had always been protective of Garcia that much was true, but he always told himself it was just because they were good friends but now if what Hotch was saying was correct and Morgan hated to admit it, but he would never lie to him then Penelope was the one person meant for him.

"I'm not," Hotch told him quite seriously. "I'm actually surprised that you Morgan have been able to resist her up until now, because as I said you are a new werewolf and I was anything but when I met Spencer three years ago and I still had trouble controlling myself in his presence. Actually I suspected that the two of you were meant for each other from day one, because of the way you interacted, but humans are not always sure of their feelings and so deny what's right in front of them. Trust me Morgan there's no use a fighting it as I've seen wolves do that in the past and it only brings them heartache in the end. If you try to date other women like you've been doing you'll be thinking of Garcia the whole time and feel guilty for cheating on her. Be warned, however, not admitting your feelings for each other, especially for you Morgan, has led to suicide among wolves in the past. Of course when a wolf's mate turns them down it's also been known to lead to suicide."

"Whoah! Whoah slow down!" Morgan protested. "I haven't even really had a chance to absorb the act that I am a werewolf now or that they even exist yet. I need some time."

"So you're not denying the connection I've always known was between us?" asked Garcia hopefully. She had waited for two years for Morgan to admit that he had feelings for her, as she had known for a long time that she loved him. Oh, she had tried dating some, but she always ended up comparing them to her best friend and so those boyfriends never lasted long and they had been few and far between.

"What do you mean baby girl?" asked Morgan in surprise.

"I mean that I've had feelings for you for a couple of years, but I was waiting for you to realize that you did as well."

"You never said anything," Morgan said.

"You weren't ready to hear it," Garcia told him quite seriously.

The rest of the team all snickered it this because it was true. Morgan had always been a player and dated a girl for only month or two before breaking up with them.

"Of course I realize that departmental policy has also played a part in neither of us admitting we had feelings for each other," Garcia added.

"Departmental policy really doesn't apply to you two," Hotch told them and both Morgan and Garcia looked at him with questions in their eyes.

"Garcia you're not a field agent, and there is a loophole in the rules about that. Back when the BAU was first started they didn't have technical analysts and therefore the rules don't really apply to you as they have never been updated."

"Aaron is right so there's no way that the higher-ups can object to your relationship as there are no rules about the behind the scenes staff getting involved with an agent, so as long as you can work together and act professionally on the job they won't bother to update that rule."

"That's not gonna be a problem," Garcia said and Morgan nodded.

"I have to agree that the two of you should have gotten together a long time ago," JJ told Morgan glaring at him. "You've been denying your feelings PG for way too long just because you didn't want to settle down. We all saw how close the two of you were and how you felt about each other, a very long time ago and I'm sure if Hotch hadn't had to turn you into a werewolf in order to save your life you would still be denying your feelings Penelope here until the day you died."

"Hey stop make me out to be the bad guy here," Morgan protested looking offended.

"You're right, you're not the bad guy," JJ admitted shooting him a remorseful look, "but I've known about PG's feelings for you for sometime and I just want to see her happy and you too."

"You never said anything to me," Morgan protested.

JJ snorted at that. "Like I was going to betray Garcia's trust by telling you how she really felt about you. She swore me to secrecy when she told me, but now that it's out in the open I'm not betraying anything by telling you I knew of her feelings."

"Morgan, I need to take you through a crash course of being a werewolf," Hotch said. "The same one I took Spencer through when I changed him a couple weeks ago, so for the foreseeable future all your free time is going to be learning to control your reactions no matter the situation. This is nonnegotiable," he added seeing the look on Morgan's face. "There are certain things that you need to be made aware of and also there are going to be certain ways you are going to react to different situations then you did before your transformation. You will need to learn to control these reactions, which shouldn't be to difficult for you and shouldn't take to long."

"What kind of things do I need to learn?" asked Morgan.

"Well, not allowing your eyes to change even when Garcia is around, will be the hardest as our eyes respond to our emotions. Also this is vitally important, but us werewolves are very protective of our mates, so if you see someone arguing with Garcia or just bothering her even if it's somebody you normally trust you are going to react whether you want to or not and that's not a good thing."

"React in what way?" asked Rossi before Morgan could voice the question that was on his lips.

"Well it usually ends up with the person's throat torn out," Hotch said seriously causing the rest of the team to wince except for Reid who had known this. "That's what I meant when I said that us werewolves are very protective of our mates and if we have pups we are very protective of them as well."

"I don't want to kill anybody unless it's part of the job," Morgan said looking worried.

"Don't worry so much, once you've had a year or two of being a werewolf well it won't be quite so hard to control your reactions, but for now well any threat to Garcia is going to make you react strongly whether that's just an argument or somebody hitting on her."

"Nobody had better hit on her," Morgan growled causing Garcia to give him a pleased smile even as she cuddled into his chest and the others sniggered behind their hands.

"See, you're getting all possessive already and this is perfectly normal," Reid said speaking for the first time in a long while. "I have discovered that us werewolves are very protective and territorial when it comes to our mates and also our pups just as Aaron said and I consider Jack just as much mine as Aaron's and Aaron did say that I am considered a stepparent to him at least according to werewolf laws."

Morgan looked surprised at his reaction to what Hotch had said about other men hitting on Garcia as he had refused to acknowledge to himself that he harbored more than feelings of friendship towards the quirky tech analyst. What he you had gone through as a kid had made him rather wary about getting involved with anyone in that way since he had been raped on multiple occasions by Buford who was now in prison for his crimes and would be for the rest of his life. Now though the feelings he had for the woman who had been his friend for a long time were welling up in him and he could no longer deny them like he had been, nor did he find he want to.

"What's Spencer says is true, he is considered kind of a stepparent to Jack since he is my mate. Also we're going to have to introduce you to the pack alpha at some point although that can wait awhile."

"Why do I need to meet this pack Alpha?" asked Morgan.

"Because he has to welcome you officially as part of the pack so that you can run with other wolves on the full moon. I know you're something of a lone wolf, although that term is really a misnomer for our kind, but you'll find that you have the urge to be around others of your kind especially near the full moon," Hotch told him. "Wolves are pack animals plain and simple and you'll want to be part of a group of them sometimes. When you do meet the pack Alpha trust me you don't need to mention that the rest of the team knows except for Garcia as you can tell him that you discovered that she was your mate as soon as you saw her again after your change."

"The pack Alpha wouldn't be happy that humans knew about werewolves, would he?" asked Emily.

"No, he wouldn't, not unless they were part of the pack," Hotch said. "We're just going to have to make up some story how it was necessary for me to change Morgan into a werewolf while on a case in order to spare his life without letting him know that the rest of you were there."

"Wouldn't it be better to tell the truth?" asked JJ.

Hotch shook his head, "We are a very closed society JJ and don't accept outsiders very well unless they are the mates of werewolves or wolves themselves that is. There is so much fear of normal people finding out that we exist for if that happened there would be a massacre of both your kind and ours. You all know that you might have been accepting of the fact that Spencer and I are werewolves, but we all know that if most people found out there would be a panic that would end up with hundreds of lives being lost, probably thousands. With all the books and movies about us this is doubly important than it was in the past because you know a lot of people believe what they see or what they read and will see us as being soulless monsters that can only transform on the full moon that would just love to bite or scratch someone and turn them into a werewolf and most of them would never listen or acknowledge the truth."

"And what happens when a werewolf finds a mate that isn't a part of the werewolf community?" asked JJ suspecting she already knew the answer but wanting it confirmed.

The others on the team looked interested in their answer so Hotch and so answered truthfully.

"Sometimes the person accepts what they are told and the werewolf and their mate stay together other times it doesn't go so well, which I know you are aware."

The others on the team nodded as they remembered what Aaron had told them that if a werewolf's mate did reject them then that werewolf committed suicide usually or in some cases probably became a serial killer as there would always be bad apples among any sentient species and werewolves were still basically human that just happened to turn into a wolf once a month or anytime they chose.

The seven of them continued to talk for sometime until Rossi finally chased them all into bed as it was quite late.

~~~Hotch and Reid~~~

One year later

Morgan and Garcia walked into work together even though the two of them had taken separate vehicles and both were cheerful as they could be about what was coming up in just few days.

In the beginning Morgan had tried his best to maintain the relationship he had originally had with Penelope Garcia, which was one of deep friendship with a lot of flirting involved, but nothing serious. He hadn't wanted a serious, lifelong relationship he had told himself no matter what Hotch had said about mates. He had found however that Hotch and Reid had been right because he had tried dating other women and he had felt like he was cheating on his mate, although he hadn't wanted to accept the fact that he would never be happy without Penelope Garcia in his life as more then his best friend and confident. He hadn't wanted to believe Hotch or Reid when they told him that a werewolf only had one mate, but when he was on a case all he thought about constantly was his baby girl, so much so that he had trouble concentrating on doing his job and when he was home all he wanted to do was call Garcia just to talk to her or go over to her place and be with her. He started to have very vivid dreams about making love to her and if they were anything to go by the actual event would be bloody spectacular as he was sure his imagination wasn't half as good as the reality of actually making love to the woman he had adored for years. He had been on several dates, with different women but he had felt so guilty and that's where those nonrelationships had ended and no sex had actually taken place or even a goodnight kiss. Finally he had given into the inevitable and gone to Garcia's apartment and apologized for what he had put her through for he knew that he had when he had refused to accept what Hotch and Reid had told him about werewolves and their mates. She hadn't really wanted to forgive him, because he had deeply hurt her, but she had agreed to hear him out which he was thankful for.

Ever since that day where he and Garcia had a nice long talk they had been inseparable in fact Garcia had moved in with him at his house, letting go of her apartment.

Morgan had finally told her that the reason he had never really had a steady relationship was partly because of his dad's murder when he was ten and also partly what he had been through as a teen. By then everyone knew that he had been molested as a child and his baby girl had immediately understood what he had been going through all these years and why he had never wanted to settle down after what had happened. A lot of people that were molested, especially as children couldn't seem to form close friendships or be intimate with anyone and if they did manage to form close friendships then most of them never told of their dark pasts knowing that most people wouldn't understand and ridicule them at least thinking they were lying in order to gain attention. About 35 to 45 percent of children committed suicide or withdrew into themselves and never let anyone in again.

Now though he was so happy because he had proposed and his baby girl who had accepted. He never believed he would be able to settle down or even think about having a few children, but now he could hardly wait and he knew his mother would be over the moon to hear that her son had finally fallen in love and was getting married.

Morgan had mastered what Hotch had taught him about being a werewolf and now he had full control over himself and his new abilities and it would take quite a bit for him to lose control, although he know that if his mate was attacked then he could very easily tear whoever had hurt her apart and Morgan knew that both Reid and Hotch felt that way about each other. He had also been through several full moons since then and met the pack Alpha just before his first one almost a year ago now. He had been accepted into the pack and so had Garcia although Greg had been surprised that he had found his mate as soon as he was changed. Once Hotch and Spencer had explained Morgan's and Garcia's history to him and how they had always believed that the two of them were meant to be together, but had been denying their feelings and finally Greg had understood. As a human Morgan had been able to deny his feelings for Penelope Garcia, but as a werewolf that was impossible as Greg and every werewolf well knew. All three of them had carefully made up a story about how Morgan was changed and Greg had accepted if only because all three of them were good at lying with straight faces or at least stretching the truth. The basic story that they had told Greg had been a combination of facts and fiction, but it all blended together into a cohesive whole so that it sounded believable. Of course all three profilers knew that it was better to use a few facts when you were making up a story so that it would be more believable and that was exactly what they had done.

Garcia was so happy that she was almost floating on air and literally glowing. The modest ring with a pink diamond was perfect for her and Morgan knew her so well that he had known the moment he saw it, at least according to him although in this case Garcia wasn't inclined to doubt him since they knew each other so well.

Morgan for his part was proudly escorting her from the elevator towards her office with a gentle hand on her back, which was the only display of affection he allowed himself out where others could see him since they were at work.

The two of them had already been warned by Strauss that if they didn't act professionally while they were working that they would be separated and one of them would be transferred. Of course the bitch had wanted to do that anyway, but had no grounds to as relationships were allowed just so long as they acted professionally and so far that hadn't been a problem.

"Oh somebody's cheerful this morning," commented JJ with a smile as she exited her office seeing Morgan Garcia with large grins on their faces. She observed her two friends and noticed how Morgan was almost strutting with one hand proudly on Garcia's back and how one of her best friends was smiling broadly.

"Of course, I am," Garcia said as she displayed the modest sized pink diamond ring that Morgan had given her. "This big lug finally proposed and it's about time too."

"Hey!" Morgan protested knowing that he was being teased.

"You have been a bit stupid when it comes to Garcia," JJ told Morgan with the teasing grin. "It took you three years just to admit you had feelings for her and you wouldn't have done that if you hadn't been turned into a werewolf," she added in a whisper giving Morgan a significant look.

"Alright, fine, you're probably right," Morgan admitted.

"I am right, just look at how you resisted for so long even after Hotch flat out told you that it wouldn't do a bit of good," JJ told Morgan shaking her head at her colleague.

"What is this beat up on Morgan day?"

"No," Garcia said giving her fiancé kiss on the cheek, "but you have to admit that you deserve a bit of teasing for being so dense about your feelings for me for so long. Besides as much as you tease the others when they have a significant other you deserve what you are getting."

Morgan had to admit that Garcia had a point as he did tend to tease Emily or JJ when they were in a relationship and he teased Reid quite a bit because of his relationship with Hotch, although if Hotch and Reid felt even a 10th of what he felt Garcia then they were two lucky individuals. Reid had assured him on multiple occasions that what he felt for Hotch defied description, which definitely described his feelings for Penelope Garcia so he could definitely understand. He knew he had wanted to strangle Hotch in the beginning for supposedly leading Reid astray, for forcing himself on the younger man, but his friend had made it perfectly clear that Hotch had done no such thing and that they had had gotten together because they loved each other. Reid had pointed out uncharacteristically being rather forceful, that it was none of his business who he was involved with and that he could take care of himself. He had then added gently that while he appreciated Morgan coming to his defense and that he was the best friend he had ever had in his whole life that he was a man with needs just like any other.

Morgan remembered Hotch telling him while he was learning all about his different abilities that came with his transformation into a werewolf that technically he and Spencer were married once they'd had sex for the first time if only because they were mates, at least according to the laws of their kind. He remembered being shocked at that as it never occurred to him, but once he thought about it, it made sense and the man he considered his brother and his boss, but also his friend were happy and that was all that mattered to him.

"So why don't we make the announcement to the rest of the team as soon as they get in," Garcia suggested and Morgan nodded having only been half listening to the conversation between his Penelope and his friend.

"That's a good idea," Morgan agreed.

"So what are you going to have the wedding?" asked JJ.

"Oh not for awhile," Garcia sad. "It'll take me at least a few months to plan and that's in between all the teams cases."

"We do plan on going up to Chicago sometime soon to visit my mom and my sisters and my aunt and my cousin in person instead of over the phone and you know my mom will be thrilled that I finally decided to settle down," Morgan said.

"And to of course invite them to the wedding," Garcia added.

"I'm surprised you didn't consider eloping," JJ joked.

"I did think about it," Morgan admitted, "but not to seriously since my mom in particular would kill me if I actually went through with it. She's been wanting me to get married and give her a few grandbabies for years and now she'll finally get her wish."

"I bet she'll tell you it's about time," Garcia joked and Morgan actually blushed confirming that she was indeed correct. "Besides I would never have seriously considered eloping since I want the whole team there and also your family. It just wouldn't really be special without the people we love there to see us on the happy day of our lives."

"That's probably exactly what mom would tell me," Morgan agreed kissing Garcia's cheek. "And you're right as much as I would like to elope and keep it simple I want the whole team there and also my family as it just wouldn't be the same without them."

"I'll help you with those wedding plans if you want PG," JJ offered, "and I know Emily will be glad to help as well."

"Thanks, I might just take you up on that," Garcia said gratefully.

"Well we had better get to work," JJ suggested. "I have a pile of cases to go through."

"And I still have some paperwork to do, stuff I didn't finish yesterday," Morgan groaned. He hated doing paperwork even though he knew it was a necessary evil and he knew the rest of the team shared his opinion even Hotch who had more of it then they did.

"We can talk about this after work if we don't catch a case," JJ told Garcia who nodded.

"Yes, we need to do that," Garcia agreed and the three of them went their separate ways once Morgan had escorted his fiancée to her office and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

After that conversation word started to quickly spread about the engagement around the bullpen and the whole team sincerely congratulated Morgan and Garcia before they got back to work. All of them offered to help with wedding plans in their own way, Rossi offered his backyard, for the actual wedding saying that he had plenty of space, and that way they didn't need to worry about finding somewhere to hold it, especially when they might have to cancel at the last minute, Hotch offered to escort the bride down the aisle, since Garcia's parents were dead and so was Morgan's father. Reid didn't offer to do anything, although he was quietly supportive, but Morgan told him in no uncertain terms that he was going to be best man since the younger man was like the brother that he had never had and Reid had agreed saying he would be honored.

Everybody was happy for the couple, but they had work to do Hotch reminded the team calmly after he had congratulated them again and so the discussion of immediately turned away from wedding plans for the moment as a started to discuss the latest case and got to doing what they did best and that was catching the people who killed or harmed others just because they could.


End file.
